PHILADELPHIA — Scrap by massive, metallic scrap, the pieces are being hauled away, leaving only the spine of a skeleton ship that served the U.S. Navy for 26 years.
But her old, gray bones will soon begin a new life below the surface.
The USS Arthur W. Radford, a 563-foot destroyer that was last deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom, is set to become the longest vessel ever reefed in the Atlantic Ocean when it is sunk this month at a site 28.5 nautical miles southeast of Cape May Point.
The reefing of the ship, currently docked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, is expected to create an explosive habitat for fish and marine life for anglers and an underwater playground for divers eager for discovery.
And the state says the ship will be safe harbor for all she benefits.
“It will more or less create an underwater food chain where marine life will increase exponentially,” said …