Scuba instructor Lila Harris made her first dive on the Argosy VI on July 5, four days after the state sank it 23 nautical miles off Orange Beach. When she went back on Aug. 11, the flat white top she remembered was gone. "I was just really confused because I was expecting it to have that white flat top... this is definitely different, and to me it reminded me of a sinkhole," she told Gulf Coast Media.
A dive team from the Alabama Marine Resources Division later confirmed that about two-thirds of the roof had collapsed. Director Kevin Anson said the likely cause was wave action of up to 15 feet from Tropical Storm Bertha. The state built this wreck to last decades. In one summer it took the kind of damage state officials expected to come gradually. Anson says that made it better for fish. At least one dive operator now advises divers to stay out of the inside. And the fall regulations keep shrinking the list of fish an angler can keep from it.
A Flat Roof Was Never the Goal
The Argosy VI started out as an Indiana riverboat casino. Orange Beach developer Larry Wireman towed it to Alabama with plans for a hotel and restaurant. When those plans stalled, he sold it to the state. As part of the deal, he worked with Orange Beach-based Walter Marine to strip out hazardous materials and get the hull ready to sink. Walter Marine fitted plugs along the bottom and cut vents through the ship so it would go down stern first and land upright on its keel.
That plan was about height, and height is what fish use. In the state's July 2 announcement, biologist Craig Newton compared the ship's 80-foot beam with the roughly 50-foot width of the Liberty ships sunk off Alabama in the mid-1970s. He said the casino boat would give "a more vertically complex type of habitat." Crews had cut large holes through the sides and floors to speed up the reefing process.
Bertha did more of that work, sooner. "It was not expected that damage would occur this soon," Anson told Gulf Coast Media, "but we did expect that over time that the vessel would experience that kind of deterioration." He also said the collapse could help the reef: "The roof, as it collapsed, in certain areas it has kind of folded over or fallen down at an angle, and that actually makes the reef more complex and creates a better habitat for fish rather than just a flat roof."
Harris's own observations fit that. On the Aug. 11 dive she saw far more fish than five weeks earlier, "from the outside moving in it, and the inside moving out." Her photos from before and after the storm also helped state officials work out when the damage happened.
The Third Ship in a Planned Set
The Argosy is the third ship in a planned reef group. Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship called it the end of a plan that began in 2013 with the 272-foot LuLu and continued in 2018 with the 250-foot New Venture. The goal was three ship-sized reefs close enough together to bring business to dive operators and fishing boats. Newton said the Argosy sits within 7.5 miles of both, so one dive trip or fishing day can cover all three. The state lists the site at N29° 52.206', W087° 34.984', in 120 feet of water.
The storm changes how that three-wreck day works. On the LuLu and New Venture, you mostly know what you're getting. The Argosy is the one that is still changing.
The Depth Depends on Who Measured It
The roof collapse is one reason published numbers for this wreck don't agree. Here's what each source says:
| Source | Top of structure | Other figures |
|---|---|---|
| ADCNR announcement, July 2, 2026 | 62 to 64 feet of water above the vessel | 120 ft bottom, 80-ft beam |
| MRD's Kevin Anson, via Gulf Coast Media, Sept. 2, 2026 | About 65 feet at the intact roof section | Still upright, same location |
| The Dive Boat Down Under trip page | Top deck at about 70 feet | Describes the vessel as 120 feet wide |
The figure that matters for boat traffic is the 50-foot minimum. The top of the wreck has to stay at least that far below the surface for navigational clearance, and Anson said "we have plenty of distance there." Divers should treat any single depth as a rough guide and dive by their computer.
The dive boats have adjusted their trips. The Dive Boat Down Under lists Argosy VI trips at $200, running every few weeks or by request. Divers need Advanced Open Water certification, at least 20 logged dives and a dive computer, and must bring their own gear except tanks. The page says penetration "is not recommended due to instability of the structure." Newton expected the top of the wreck to be shallow enough for "a wide range of diver experience levels." After the collapse, at least one operator is limiting the trip to advanced divers.
For the other two wrecks, the same operator's New Venture trip runs 80 to 120 feet and adds one more requirement: a boat dive deeper than 60 feet within the past year. Harry's Dive Shop lists LuLu and New Venture trips and requires certification cards, a surface signaling device, a reel or spool, and dive insurance. Its last posted 2026 dates were Oct. 3 and 4, so check with the shop for anything later.
What Can Still Go in the Box This Fall
The Argosy is about 23 nautical miles out. Alabama's state jurisdiction for reef fish ends at 9 nautical miles, so the wreck is in federal waters. Newton's pitch for the reef was that you "could stop by on a day of red snapper fishing and supplement your box with some different types of fish." Artificial Reef Coordinator Russell Rigby hoped the wreck's nooks and crannies would draw grouper species that have been hard to attract to smaller reefs. The fall calendar now limits several of those species:
| Species | Status from mid-October through December 2026 | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Gag grouper | Closed since 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1 | None |
| Greater amberjack | Closes 12:01 a.m. Oct. 14 | 1 per person, 34-inch fork length while open |
| Red snapper, federally permitted for-hire boats | Closes 12:01 a.m. Oct. 26 | None after the close |
| Red snapper, private and state-licensed charter anglers | Open through Dec. 31 unless Alabama's quota is met first | 2 per person, 16-inch minimum total length |
| Gray triggerfish | Open; annual closures fall in Jan./Feb. and June/July | 1 per person, 15-inch fork length |
| Vermilion snapper | No recreational seasonal closure listed | 10 per person, 10-inch minimum total length |
As of today, Oct. 12, amberjack has two days left. The bigger change comes on Oct. 26. After that date, under the ADCNR season notice, red snapper on this wreck stays open to private boats but closes on trips aboard vessels with a federal for-hire reef fish permit. Charter boats licensed only by the state, without a federal permit, have to stay inside the 9-mile line, so they can't legally fish the Argosy at all. From late October on, the reef fish open to every kind of trip there are triggerfish and vermilion snapper.
The paperwork is the same for everyone. Under ADCNR rules, anglers 16 and older need Alabama's Reef Fish Endorsement to take Gulf reef fish. Red snapper, gray triggerfish and greater amberjack must be reported through Snapper Check, one report per vessel trip, before landing. Boats fishing federal waters also need a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready. NOAA's table was last updated Sept. 2, and seasons can change by bulletin, so check it again before you head out.
No One Is Scheduled to Check on It
The most recent condition report on the Argosy is from Sept. 2. As of that report, the state had no routine monitoring schedule for the site. Instead, it planned to dive the wreck again after future storms. That means most of the up-to-date information comes from people like Harris, who dive it on their own and share photos. The Dive Boat Down Under's trip page warns that the ship "may not last another storm."
The wreck was built to break down over time, and Bertha sped that up. What the reef looks like on any given trip depends on the last storm and the most recent diver's photos.
At Limitless Homes, we build on the same coast that collapsed most of a 408-foot ship's roof within weeks, so we plan every house around Gulf weather from day one. If you'd like a home in Orange Beach with room for dive gear, rods and a boat, and a builder who designs for the storms that come through here, contact us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
