COLOMBO – The MV Thermopylae Sierra, a 155-meter (508-foot) bulk carrier flying the Cypress flag, was anchored off Sri Lanka’s west coast by court order following a legal dispute. Neglected for three years without proper maintenance, the vessel eventually succumbed to the forces of nature and sank in 2012. Though abandoned, the sunken ship has since transformed into an underwater oasis, providing shelter to a diverse array of marine life. A recent study off Sri Lanka’s west coast, which included surveys of coral reefs and shipwrecks like the Thermopylae Sierra, found that shipwrecks support more abundant fish assemblages compared with natural coral reefs near Colombo, the country’s commercial capital. “We know that shipwrecks serve as important underwater habitats for reef fish, but there had been no proper study quantifying how fish assemblages on shipwrecks compare to natural reefs in terms of species composition, diversity, richness and density. Our research aimed to fill this gap,” said Nishan Perera, a marine scientist at Blue Resources Trust. A school of snapper fish swimming on the shelter of a shipwreck. Image courtesy of Nishan Perera. Underwater habitats In addition to the Thermopylae Sierra, which lies at a depth of 23 m (75 ft), the research team selected the Medhufaru wreck, at 30 m (98 ft), and the Nilgiri tugboat, lying 32 m (105 ft) deep off the west coast near Colombo. The Medhufaru was sunk in 2009 and the Nilgiri tugboat in 1997, both of which have become popular diving sites. The team also…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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