A 6,000-ton, 371-ft. former cargo vessel has been sunk to create an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico 67 mi. off the Galveston coast. Matrix New World Engineering helped the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program ensure that the cargo ship Kraken was free of environmental hazards and safe to support coral, fish, sea turtles and other aquatic life.

The Kraken’s new resting place is near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, a triad of coral reef systems popular with divers and fishermen, about 100 mi. off the Gulf Coast.

Funding for the project came from donations and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill natural resource damage settlement.