HER Majesty's Bahamian Ship Yellow Elder was sunk as a "dive wreck" yesterday by Stuart's Cove Dive Bahamas, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said.

The vessel will be used as an artificial reef site for visitors.

Commissioned on November 20,1986, HMBS Yellow Elder was one of three protector class vessels that was built by Fairey Marine in England.

The 108ft craft was used extensively by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in the fight against transnational activities such as illegal migration, poaching and drug smuggling before becoming inoperable and deemed no longer cost-effective to repair by a marine survey company.

HMBS Yellow Elder was decommissioned in 2016. Stuart's Cove offered to use the vessel as a dive wreck without cost.

All residual oil and fuel was removed prior to it being sunk approximately five miles south of Coral Harbour. Other vessels sunk by Stuart Cove in the past have become natural habitats for coral and other marine life; a natural attraction for many visiting divers.