KEY LARGO, Florida (31 May 2002) -- With pressure mounting from the Florida Keys tourism industry to "flip the ship", salvage experts with the Resolve Marine Group announced they may try to roll the "Spiegel Grove" early this week. Local officials finally decided to hire the Fort Lauderdale salvage company at an estimated cost of $250,000 after a Florida business group led by dive shop owners Spencer Slate and Steve Frink botched the first attempt to sink the controversial and financially troubled "Grove". Slate, who was in charge of the sinking, resigned as chairman of the Key Largo business group immediately after the Spiegel Grove sank unexpectedly and angrily lashed out at others involved in the botched sinking attempt for "making us look like idiots." On May 17, workers, volunteers, government and tourism officials were forced "to run for their lives" when the massive 510-foot former US Navy vessel suddenly started sinking and turned turtle. The disaster followed years of controversy and heated debate over plans to locate an "underwater amusement park" in a national marine sanctuary and subsequent approval by the Monroe County Commission to divert $300,000 in taxpayer funds from a Lower Keys wastewater project appropriation to the Spiegel Grove tourism project. Support the American dream!!! Buy a Florida Flop fake gold lifetime medallion and make us filthy rich! | | Can another $250,000 flip the Florida Flop? "Sinking Advisor" (sic) Ken Normand, who was the designated codirector of the sinking along with Slate, has admitted that final preparations aboard the "Grove" were chaotic, disorganized and mismanaged. But Normand refuses to take any responsibility for the disaster, claiming he quit as supervisor of the sinking on March 16 (the day before the Grove suddenly sank) after key team members started fighting over the amount of water being pumped into the ship and the location of critical vent holes. "I feel that this roll over could have been prevented days before it ever happened," Normand claims. "The mishap started from the rush to get the ship to Key Largo...I am sorry that this had to happen this way and thank GOD that no one was hurt or killed during this mishap." © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
