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| Dive Key Biskayne Wreck Lancelin |
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The wreck dive
Each year the Key Biscayne wreck becomes more colourful as sponge growth takes hold. Schools of fish can be found in every small compartment and opening. Large magnificent Samson Fish are often seen circling the wreck. There are excellent photographic opportunities with significant colourful soft corals covering the wreck. |
| The rig lies upside down in sand. The maximum depth is 42 m however this tends to be in one small area where water movement has scooped out the bottom from surge. The top of the wreck is 26 m so computers tend to be a must. It is suited to a decompression dive and for those with adequate training and experience this will be permitted. The rig is much like a table with the topside flat and un-interesting. Much of the wreckage is found beneath or surrounding the rig. The leg structures are a main focal point outside the rigs super structure. Crayfish are abundant including Jewfish and snapper. |
| This dive is only for divers with advanced certification having significant experience in deeper diving or divers with deep diver or technical training. |
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION INTO THE LOSS OF 'KEY BISCAYNE'.
| The jack-up drilling rig ‘Key Biscayne’ was last seen afloat shortly after 1845 hours W.A.S.T. Friday 1 September 1983 in position 31° 10' S, 115° 11' E, 10 nautical miles off Ledge Point on the coast of Western Australia. Shortly before that time the tow line to the rig supply vessel ‘Atlas Van Diemen' parted and the standby vessel ‘Argus Guard’, which had been stationed about 5 cables astern, pulled off to starboard to clear the rig as it was running down with the weather. ‘Key Biscayne’ was clearly seen when about 2 cables off the port beam of the standby vessel both visually and by radar. However, by the time ‘Argus Guard’ completed its turn, the rig was no longer visible and radar contact had been lost. ‘Key Biscayne’ was on voyage under tow by two rig supply vessels ‘Lady Sonia’ and ‘Atlas Van Diemen’ from a location off Darwin to Fremantle for stacking in Cockburn Sound pending its future employment. |
| The loss of the rig was the combination of a series of events during the final day when tow lines parted and gale force winds, rough seas and heavy swells buffeted the rig. All 52 persons aboard ‘Key Biscayne’ were evacuated by helicopter and were taken to nearby Lancelin township without loss or injury. The tow line to ‘Lady Sonia’ parted at 0644 hours 1 September and for the next twelve hours ‘Atlas Van Diemen' attempted to hold ‘Key Biscayne’ into the weather and away from the lee shore. Concern for the safety of the crew and of the rig was felt soon after the tow line to the supply vessel ‘Lady Sonia’ had parted. Shortly after 0900 hours the rig transmitted a PAN message seeking assistance. By 0930 hours this message had been converted into a MAYDAY and helicopter assistance was sought to evacuate crew. At 1110 hours the first man was lifted from the helipad and by 1230 hours all non-essential personnel had been evacuated by both RAAF and civilian helicopters. Throughout these operations the rig was wallowing in the heavy seas and swells, rolling and pitching heavily. During the day it was noticed that the vessel was settling by the stern listing to starboard, as heavy green seas were continually washing over the main deck. The bow of the rig was seen lifting clear of the seas and the stern immersed as the vessel pitched up to ten degrees forward and about twenty five degrees by the stern. At the same time the rig was rolling up to fifteen degrees each side of the upright. All efforts to reconnect ‘Lady Sonia’ were unsuccessful. At about 1600 hours it was decided that the remaining crew should evacuate before dark and return the next day when conditions were expected to moderate. The drift of the rig toward the shore had been slowed by an anchor and the weight on the tow line. With all line-throwing rockets spent and conditions on deck too hazardous to work no useful purpose was seen in remaining on board. By 1620 hours the remaining crew had been lifted from the rig. The three support vessels remained in the area during the night. At about 0830 hours Friday 2 September ‘Argus Guard’ recovered a guitar case, life jackets, paper and a trail of debris indicating the location of the sunken rig. The position of the wreck was confirmed by bathymetric survey carried out on 8 and 9 September 1983. |
| Subsequent underwater video film showed the rig to be inverted, lying on top of two of its legs with the third some distance away and all pointing in a north easterly directicn. Part of the starboard quarter of the rig hull together with the jack housing, had broken adrift. The position of the hull and legs indicated that the rig had tipped over backward. In settling on the bottom the legs were either bent or broken as the barge inverted on top of them. The rig is lying position 31° 10' S, 115° 11.7' E in 41 metres of water. The bottom of the inverted hull is roughly 26 metres below the surface and the deep well tower, protruding through the hull, has some 20 metres clear water above it. The rig does not present hazard to commercial shipping operating in the area. Fisherman and divers have been warned of the dangers of wires, metal obstructions and other hazards of working close by. |
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