Lebanon sinks old tanks to create new reef - in pictures

Environmental activists drop off old battle tanks provided by the Lebanese Armed Forces into the Mediterranean Sea to create a new reef. All photos AFP Photo

A diver poses next to a sunk car.

A diver poses next to the a sunk tank.

The tanks' turrets point to south towards Israel, activists say.

The initiative to create an "underwater park" is spearhead by a local group, Friends of the coast of Sidon, which got the Lebanese army to hand over some of it old vehicles for the project.

Three kilometres off the coast of the city of Sidon, a ship's crane manoeuvred the military hardware into place over the water before dropping them down to the seabed one after the other.

Lebanon's Mediterranean coast stretches for 200 kilometres but beaches have not been spared from a waste and garbage crisis that has plagued the country for years.

"This will be a paradise for divers and a place where we can develop underwater life," said NGO representative Kamel Kozbar, who hopes seaweed will soon cover the vehicles.

Lebanese environmentalists sank 10 old tanks and armoured vehicles into the Mediterranean Sea to attract divers and create new habitats for marine life.

Three kilometres off the coast of the city of Sidon, a ship's crane manoeuvred the military hardware into place over the water before dropping them down to the seabed one after the other.

The initiative to create an "underwater park" is spearhead by a local group, Friends of the coast of Sidon, which got the Lebanese army to hand over some of it old vehicles for the project.

"This will be a paradise for divers and a place where we can develop underwater life," said NGO representative Kamel Kozbar, who hopes seaweed will soon cover the vehicles.

Lebanon's Mediterranean coast stretches for 200 kilometres but beaches have not been spared from a waste and garbage crisis that has plagued the country for years.

In Sidon, a mountain of smelly trash has scarred the shoreline, despite the presence of a new waste management facility.

In a region fraught with tensions the latest project also has some political undertones.

The tanks have been placed with their turrets facing towards Lebanon's southern foe Israel "out of solidarity for the Palestinian people", Mr Kozbar said.