Bahrain’s Creating an Underwater Theme Park from a Sunken 747

Not your grandpappy's wreck diving

January 28, 2019 9:00 am

Seems the Kingdom of Bahrain is intent on making our list of the globe’s seven best waterparks for adults. 

The tiny Middle Eastern country, located in the Persian Gulf about an hour flight west of Dubai, has plans to create an underwater theme park … by sinking a 230-foot Boeing 747. 

Bahrain, no offense to the 1.5M strong who live there, does not have much brand recognition at the average American dinner table. As nearby Middle Eastern playground UAE pulls in billions (and the Saudis eye 2030 for their own entertainment/tourism come-up), it’s no surprise Bahrain’s thinking big. And did we mention how big a Boeing 747 is? The decision to create a turbo-jet Atlantis is part of a partnership between the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Agency and the private sector, and once the plane is firmly planted, the planned “park” will take up over 1,000,000 square feet. There are plans to surround the plane with artificial coral reefs, art sculptures and other Bahrain-specific curios, so interested divers will have lots to explore and reason to return. 

A couple natural follow-up questions to this plan … where did the plane come from? And this can’t possibly be good for marine life, right? The plane in question is decommissioned and comes especially prepared for its second life. So no Castaway crash here, thank goodness. However, it’s not good for the environment. C’mon. A steel tank that burned petroleum for two decades is neither naturally occurring nor healthy for the Persian Gulf, and metals in the wings and fuselage meshed with artificial reef features could prove corrosive to surrounding ocean life. (Not to mention, divers should be wary of the structure breaking down over the years). 

Still, for the wreck diver with a completed bucket list, this isn’t one to miss. 

For more information on Dive Bahrain’s opening, bookmark the site here

Images via Instagram, Unsplash 

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