What was once meant to be a general purpose freighter ultimately became a drug-smuggling ship – but the Voici Bernadette will be given a second chance at an honest existence as an artificial reef off the coast of St. Lucie County.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the ship in Miami during a drug investigation, finding 800 bricks of cocaine – with an estimated street value of $35 million – on board.
The 180-foot-long freighter stands approximately 100 feet tall at its highest point. Plans call for it being moved 10 ½ miles out, south of the Fort Pierce inlet, and sunk with the Fort Pierce Sportsfishing Club artificial reef.
This one, though, will be called the People’s Reef – because it’s going to take the community’s support to raise the $150,000 needed to strip the ship down and clean it up.
Currently, the Voici Bernadette is docked at the Summerlin Dock next to the St. Lucie County Regional History Center on Seaway Drive. Visitors to the area can gaze upon the massive ship, though no tours are allowed.
“This is very cool,” said Kathy Green, one of the volunteers organizing the necessary fundraisers. “This is history.”
Green and others are part of the newly created MMPS Environmental Inc. 501(c)3 nonprofit tasked with fundraising.
Among the planned events, they will be selling memorial plaques that will be installed on the ship. An area will be set aside just for military memorials, and another for first responders including police and firefighters.
“There’s plenty of room,” Green said.
Mark Music, founder of MMPS, said they envision a couple “levels” of plaques, the most basic providing the donor with a paper certificate to commemorate the plaque aboard the Voici Bernadette. The deluxe would grant the donor a “sister” plaque with the coordinates to its match on the ship.
The environmental group said the most important thing to take into consideration when sinking the Voici Bernadette is ensuring the ship is void of oil and gasoline and any other pollutants that would damage the underwater ecosystem.
“We don’t want to add to the environmental issues,” Music said. “We don’t want fuel washing up on shore.”
St. Lucie County received the freighter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection after Coastal Resources Supervisor Jim Oppenborn met with representatives earlier this year at a workshop in West Palm Beach.
Oppenborn said he had attended the workshop and took interest in Customs’ access to seized boats – including two that were bound for Volusia County.
“I’ll just plant a bug in their ear,” he recalled thinking during the workshop. The meeting was in February. In March, he received the call that Customs had the Voici Bernadette. Now, the freighter is in St. Lucie.
“You have no idea,” Oppenborn quipped regarding just how quickly the federal government moved to bring the freighter here.
The plan is to sink the freighter sometime this fall, as early as October, depending on the funding.
It will join four barges, two tugboats and 50 concrete structures that make up the artificial reef system in the area.
The county has contracted with McCulley Marine Services, which is responsible for stripping down the ship. What isn’t deemed junk will later be auctioned as part of the fundraising campaign.
“She’s full of stuff,” Green said, noting that the ship’s wheel will be among the items placed on the auction block.
Two events have currently been scheduled, including one this Sunday, June 17, at Causeway Cove across from the St. Lucie County aquarium. There will be entertainment and a car show from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A month later, on July 14, in Vero Beach, there will be a block party at Wes’s Backyard Barbecue from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature a Battle of the Bands.
Other fundraisers, including items for sale, can be found and tracked at www.ThePeoplesReef.org, which is currently under construction, so check back for updates.
The county keeps a list of its artificial reefs along with videos or previous projects. Information can be found at www.stlucieco.gov/reefs.