🐟 Two vessels, MV Belle Reynolds and MV Henry Alex, purchased for $700,000 to expand artificial reefs.
🌊 Environmental safety ensured with PCB and hexavalent chromium testing before deployment.
⚓ Part of Okaloosa’s five-year reef plan, including collaboration with the U.S. military.
SHALIMAR — The Okaloosa County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved single-source contracts worth $700,000 with Tri-Native Contractors Inc. to acquire and prepare two vessels for deployment as artificial reefs in the Gulf.
The agreements cover the purchase, cleaning, preparation, and transport of the MV Belle Reynolds and the MV Henry Alex. According to county documents, the Belle Reynolds, a 156-foot custom vessel with multiple decks, is valued at $250,000, while the Henry Alex, a 224-foot tug and supply vessel, is set at $450,000.
An additional $60,000 is budgeted for deployment costs for each vessel.
The contracts mark another step in the county’s five-year Artificial Reef Plan, adopted by the board in 2022 to expand fish habitat, boost diving and fishing opportunities, and enhance visitor experiences.
Under the plan, 12 unique vessels have already been deployed as reefs using a mix of tourism funds, grants, and partnerships, with four more, including the SS United States, scheduled by the end of 2025.
“These vessels are priced below what we normally pay for similar-sized vessels, and the contractor is one that we’ve worked with on three separate artificial reef deployments in the past,” Coastal Resources Manager Alex Fogg told commissioners during the presentation.
The county has previously collaborated with Tri-Native on four major reef projects “with great success,” staff noted in background documents.
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel asked Fogg about potential environmental risks, referencing concerns raised earlier in the meeting during a public comment section by one individual who brought up the potential of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) leaching from vessel paint.
“PCBs are something that are in most vessels, most paints and materials from prior to 1980,” Fogg explained. “We’ve worked with the EPA and collected hundreds of samples of paints throughout the vessel to ensure that they’re being removed.”
Commissioner Sherri Cox followed with questions about hexavalent chromium, noting her background in real estate consulting, where the chemical had been a remediation concern. Cox asked whether trace amounts on vessels could pose health risks to divers.
“No … not to penetrating the dive gear,” Fogg replied, clarifying that the main risks of wreck diving relate to depth and navigational hazards. He assured commissioners that the county was following all regulatory guidelines and “not cutting any corners.”
Ketchel also asked whether the county had reached capacity for new reefs in the Gulf.
Fogg said the county was making up for lost time after decades without major deployments, noting that many older reefs had deteriorated into little more than hulls due to storms.
“So while we have caught up, or maybe made up for lost time, we are now the leader in artificial reef construction in the state, if not the country,” Fogg said. He added that the projects remain financially feasible and are part of year five of the reef plan.
Fogg also described ongoing collaboration with the U.S. military, which has, in some cases, purchased vessels from the county for use in offshore exercises, then left them as reefs.
“It’s a win-win collaboration with us and the military,” Fogg said, calling the practice an opportunity to create essential fish habitat and new diving and fishing destinations.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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