In the Gulf of Mexico, 100 M60 tanks that left military use in 1994 are still doing marine work off Alabama. They were stripped of weapons, fuel and hazardous materials before REEF-EX lowered them to the seafloor, and they now sit inside Alabama’s vast artificial reef program.
The tanks went down in stages. The first six were lowered on June 1, 1994, another 58 followed in July, and the final 36 were deployed in September. The reef areas that hold them are Hugh Swingle and Don Kelley North, where the tanks rest in 70 to 110 feet of water.
Marine life on M60 tanks
Once the metal reached the seafloor, marine organisms moved in. Sponges, corals and other encrusting life attached to the tank surfaces, while crabs, worms, sea urchins and small fish used the gaps in the structures. That sequence turned a cleaned military vehicle into habitat with shelter, feeding space and surfaces for attachment.
Artificial reefs off Alabama support red snapper, greater amberjack, gray triggerfish and vermilion snapper. The state says the added habitat has helped increase reef-fish biomass and also created locations for fishing and scuba diving.
REHAB? actually reef life
The unusual part is how long the tanks have lasted. They were given a conservative expected reef life of around 50 years, yet they remain a striking part of Alabama’s artificial reef history more than three decades after deployment. In plain terms, a structure built to outlive its military purpose has kept working as reef cover through a long stretch of marine colonization.
That leaves the most practical takeaway for anyone using these waters: the tanks are still there, still supporting reef life, and still part of the habitat base that draws fish and divers. How many reef fish or other marine species the tank reefs support today is not stated.
