Divers, equipped with their compressed air tanks, stride by surrounded by colorful fish and a ray. Once they reach the seabed, they face the pillars and arches of a sea lover’s graveyard, a place teeming with aquatic life.
Construction of the Neptune Memorial Reef, located 3 miles east of Miami, Florida, began in 2007. The original project was to install an artificial concrete reef that would serve as a retreat for the area’s aquatic fauna. But space eventually evolved into an underwater mausoleum.
While looking for ways to finance the reef, the entrepreneurs came up with an idea: to offer those a chance to rest underwater forever. To do this, the ashes of the deceased are mixed with the concrete of the pillars and statues of the monument.
With people around the world looking for more environmentally friendly burial options than traditional cemeteries, underwater cemeteries have grown in popularity. Similar projects are underway in several locations in the United States, particularly off the coast of the American states of New Jersey and Texas.
190 coral colonies
Fifteen years later, the remains of more than 1,500 people are housed at Neptune Memorial Reef and nearly 1,500 sites have been reserved. The prices vary between 7,995 and 29,995 dollars and depend on the location, but also on the medium chosen by the customers.
At a depth of 12 meters, divers slalom between the columns and under the arches, passing statues of lions, starfish and other animals.
On this sunny afternoon, some divers have to repair copper tombstones on which people’s ashes are kept. Another checks the geographic coordinates and glues a mourning plaque to a concrete beam with epoxy resin at the specified location.
“Our motto is ‘creating life after life,'” said Jim Hustler, Operations Manager at Neptune Memorial Reef, of the project’s ecological dimension. “We wanted to build a sustainable reef that would replace dying reefs around the world.”
The goal is reached. More than 190 coral colonies have established themselves in this 4,000 m2 area, which is also home to 56 species of fish as well as crabs and sea urchins.
“All the textures, shapes, profiles and depths are designed to attract animals,” says Hustler, whose project is just getting started.
His company has a building permit for around 64,000 m2 and plans to house the ashes of more than 250,000 people when the work is complete.