Whelan's Reef - Removal and Remediation

Removing 50 tonnes of tyres and junk from beside the Breakwater Fort in Plymouth Sound

We want to improve the health of the Tamar ecosystem as it will bring benefits to the local marine and bird life, the City of Plymouth and the people who live there. When nature is left alone it is often capable of regeneration, but we are limiting the natural regeneration in Plymouth Sound by leaving polluting materials in the ecosystem.

Breakwater Fort was built to the north of Plymouth Breakwater between 1861 and 1879 as part of the defences of Plymouth against threatened invasion by the French. The fort never saw action during the Napoleonic period but was used as an anti-aircraft base during World War II before falling into disuse.

In 1976 the Breakwater Fort was taken over by the diver training company Plymouth Ocean Projects and used for training commercial divers for work in the challenging environment of the North Sea. The seabed to the north of the fort was the main training area and several large steel and concrete structures were placed there on the seabed to be used as test pieces for the student divers. The structures are still on the seabed in various states of disrepair.

To the northwest of the Breakwater Fort lies a pile of steel scrap and tyres about 12m long by 7m wide. When diving instructor Michael Whelan started teaching divers at the Fort the seabed was covered with metal junk and tyres, so with the help of the student divers, they started to tidy it all up into one big pile. The junk was moved to one area which became known as ‘Whelan’s Reef’. The purpose of the ‘reef’ was often thought to be an artificial reef for improving the ecosystem, but this was never the case, the improvement was to relocate the junk to just one location.

Area: 12m x 7m

Mass: 50 tonnes (estimated)

Material: Steel boxes, truck axle, tyres, net, rope, lobster pots

The scope of work includes:

Lift and recover from the seabed the scrap metal, tyres and other man-made objects that compose Whelan’s Reef.

Transport the material to an agreed location on shore where it can be transferred to a handling site at the Greenergy Oil terminal in Cattedown, Plymouth.

Prior to this work a licence from the Marine Management Organisation will be obtained.

Prior to this work a study will be done to ensure that there are no significant sessile marine species on the site.
An archaeological assessment of the site has been completed by The SHIPS Project CIC and no significant material was found.

Last updated 28 March 2026