July 2007, the Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, announced that in order to ensure the quickest possible schedule for the sinking of the ship, A$7 million of federal money would be allocated to the project. The frigate was scheduled to be scuttled in of water, off Ocean Grove, Victoria on 13 September 2009, but this was postponed until 4 October because of foul weather. Sixteen scuttling charges were detonated at 1400 hours, following a six-hour delay in towing the ship into position. Canberra was inspected the next day by civilian clearance divers to ensure she had settled safely. The wreck was opened to the public as a dive site on 5 December, after four mooring pylons for dive boats were installed and safety checks and remedial work were carried out. In early 2011, Parks Victoria posted a warning that the port side of the hangar had separated from the rest of the superstructure, with frames and plating shifting up to . In mid-2011, Parks Victoria closed the dive site due to safety concerns following further degradation of the frigate. After assessment, the site was reopened on 24 October 2011. As part of an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system, completed in March 2010, Canberra was retroactively awarded the battle honour "Persian Gulf 2002" for her service during the war in Afghanistan. Citations References Books Journal articles News articles Other sources External links HMAS Canberra FFG 02 – History of the ship, maintained by a member of the frigate's commissioning crew Dive the ex HMAS Canberra – Victorian Artificial Reef Society site regarding the acquisition and sinking of Canberra Adelaide-class frigates Ships built in Seattle 1978 ships Scuttled vessels of Australia Ships sunk as dive sites Underwater diving sites in Australia Shipwrecks of Victoria (Australia)