In the brand new series of Mega Movers, we follow the relocation of the largest, heaviest and least mobile historic structures imaginable. In this episode, we reveal why ships sometimes have to be sunk – and how this is achieved. We observe the crucial planning process, explaining how skilled Mega Movers have to pay detailed and close attention to size, weight, weather and clearance.

Ships are purposely sunk for a number of different reasons. Sometimes, they are scuttled so that they will be kept out of the hands of enemy forces. Occasionally, they are decommissioned and transformed into artificial reefs. 

Yet in the near future, it may not be only ships that are sunk.  Imagine if a towering skyscraper was facing the wrecking ball. Instead of demolishing it, the tower’s owners could recruit a Mega Mover to lower it onto a barge, float it out to sea and sink it as an artificial reef.

In Brownsville, Texas a Second World War attack transport ship, the USS Queens – later renamed the Texas Clipper – needs to be scuttled to create a desperately needed artificial reef.   However, placing a 500 foot long ship at a precise spot - 130 feet down on the bottom of the ocean - presents enormous challenges.  One mistake or miscalculation and an ecological wonder becomes an ecological nightmare.