A decommissioned Canadian Navy destroyer will be submerged off the coast of B.C. as an artificial reef for marine life and scuba divers, after a Federal Court ruling cleared the way Thursday.

The Ministry of the Environment issued a permit to the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia last year, allowing the organization to sink the 113-metre-long ship at Halkett Bay, off Gambier Island.

Some residents of the area tried to block the project, but the court upheld the permit.

The reef society cleans up and prepares ships to be used as man-made reefs and then looks for optimum locations to sink them so they can become a habitat for many species of sea creatures.

More than 1,000 volunteers have stripped down the ship, removing recyclable materials for re-use, getting rid of hazardous materials (such as engine oil), taking off all the doors and hatches and clearing access throughout the ship for fish and divers, the group said.

HMCS Annapolis, built in Halifax and launched in 1964, served on both coasts until 1996. The steam-powered destroyer carried Sea King helicopters.