CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Just before one sunrise on the Charleston coast, a long-forgotten Navy vessel began its final journey to transform from an environmental hazard into new life beneath the sea.
The 120-foot Navy torpedo retriever HAZAR, once abandoned in the marsh and leaking oil into sensitive waterways, was intentionally sunk 32 miles offshore on Dec. 7, becoming South Carolina’s newest artificial reef.
But as the ship disappeared beneath the waves, another powerful story surfaced aboard the boat, guiding it to its final resting place.
From eyesore to ecosystem
For four years, the HAZAR sat derelict in Bohicket Creek, blocking water flow and threatening marsh habitat. State officials say it became a symbol of a growing coastal problem: abandoned vessels left to decay in South Carolina’s waterways…