KEY WEST – A retired U.S. Air Force missile-tracking ship intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is open for public use.

The 523-foot-long Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg that once tracked U.S. space launches off Cape Canaveral, monitored U.S. defense missile test launches and eavesdropped on Russian missile launches during the Cold War, is situated about seven miles south of Key West. The bottom of the ship’s hull rests on sand at depths between 140 and 150 feet. The ship is so massive that the superstructure extends up to about 45 feet below the surface.

“I’ve dove a lot of ships,” said Tom Kanczuzewski of South Bend, Ind., after surfacing Saturday, the first day the ship was available for public diving. “This is the ship of all ships. I’d love to come back in a year and see all the fishes.”

Project officials say it won’t take long for the wreck to begin developing a marine ecosystem, but already it’s fulfilling its purpose as a diving and angling attraction.

“We have calls coming in from as far as Germany and Norway from people planning to come just to dive this wreck,” said Bob Holston, owner of Dive Key West and president of the Keys Association of Dive Operators. “We have more prebookings for the summer now than we’ve had in 38 years of being in business.”

Keys Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro, who experienced 125-foot visibility on the wreck, agreed.

“It’s going to protect our reef (by taking sport diving pressure off natural coral reefs) and put heads in beds and increase our tourism, which is our main industry down here,” he said. “That’s the goal of this whole project, to protect our environment and also to benefit our economy.”

Dive instructor Megan Collins thinks the Vandenberg’s mammoth size should be appealing to scuba divers of different skill sets.

“It’s the possibilities for people of all levels without having to jeopardize their safety,” she said. “There’s so much to look at on the superstructure of the Vandenberg that no matter your temptation, you don’t have to go inside.”