Watch: Former World’s Largest Riverboat Casino Sunk Off Orange Beach To Become Artificial Reef

A former Indiana riverboat casino has been intentionally sunk off the Alabama coast to become the state’s largest artificial reef, creating a new habitat for marine life in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 408-foot Argosy VI, a four-storey barge, was sunk on Wednesday about 23 nautical miles south of Orange Beach. It now rests on the seabed in 122 feet of water, with the top of the structure lying just below 60 feet beneath the surface.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) said the new reef is expected to attract marine life while also becoming a destination for recreational divers and offshore anglers. Officials said it will also support the local charter fishing and diving industry.

The vessel took more than a year to prepare before it could be sunk. Workers removed environmental hazards and stripped the inside of the barge before salvage crews carried out a passive sinking by removing wooden plugs at the stern, allowing seawater to slowly fill the hull.

The vessel disappeared beneath the surface in less than an hour, and a sonar check later confirmed it had settled on the seabed.

The $2.5 million project was funded through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), which distributes revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing to Gulf states.

Alabama Marine Resources Director Kevin Anson said deploying a vessel as large as the Argosy VI was a rare opportunity.

He said fish could begin gathering around the structure almost immediately, with larger species such as red snapper possibly arriving soon after it was sunk. Within about a year, officials expect the reef to support a wide variety of marine life.

Craig Newton, fisheries section supervisor with ADCNR, said the vessel had been given a new purpose instead of being sent for scrap. “It’s rejuvenating its life,” Newton said. “Otherwise, it was destined for the scrap yard.”

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Newton said the Gulf seabed off Alabama is mostly flat, so artificial reefs provide valuable structure where corals, tunicates (sea squirts), shrimp and smaller fish can settle before attracting larger reef fish such as red snapper and triggerfish.

“It’s a matter of producing more reef fish where you didn’t have any fish,” Newton said. “Without these artificial reefs, the fish would not exist.”

He added that the reef will also provide more habitat for marine life and help absorb nutrients flowing from Mobile Bay into a natural ecosystem.

The Argosy VI previously operated as a riverboat casino in Indiana before spending several years docked in Bayou La Batre.

Alabama bought the vessel last year using GOMESA funding after it had remained unused at the city docks, along with another casino boat, since before Hurricane Sally in 2020.

Newton said the vessel’s final resting place is likely the furthest offshore it has ever been.

“Now, we’re repurposing it into something that’s very beneficial to our natural resources, and the users of those natural resources,” he said.

The Argosy VI has been placed near two existing artificial reefs, New Venture and The LuLu, which are already popular dive sites.

According to ADCNR, Alabama’s artificial reef programme covers about 1,060 square miles of Gulf waters, making it the largest artificial reef system in the United States.

Officials expect the newly deployed reef to support marine life while boosting recreational fishing and diving in the years ahead.

References: thewaterwire, AL