Coral is being moved from a 100-year-old wreck to a new home to prevent damage by cruise ships.

A team is removing the coral on the wreck of a tug that was used to build the King's Wharf, in Dockyard, and which is next to the new cruise ship pier. It is felt the corals on the wreck are likely to be damaged by the currents generated by the ships' propellers and by the silt they kick up each time the ships approach or leave the pier.

A team from the Department of Conservation Services, the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo, Dr. Thad Murdoch of the Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping Project (BREAM), the Custodian of Historic Wrecks, Dr Philippe Max Rouja and the Historic Wrecks Authority are now working to transplant corals from the wreck to restore a nearby coral reef.

The reef was damaged by a cruise ship grounding in 2006.

The coral, mostly "finger coral", is being hoisted onto the Bermuda Government research vessel Calamus, and then taken in buckets to a reef next to Dundonald Channel, the site where the cruise ship Norwegian Crown ran aground on June 7, 2006.

It is hoped the corals will flourish on their new home reef, growing and providing a new place to live for fish and other sea life.

Some coral will be left on the wreck and monitored to see how it fares during the cruise season.

The coral that has been transplanted will also be monitored over time to see how it reacts to being moved and its benefits to the rest of the animals on the reef.

Dame Jennifer Smith, Chairman of the Historic Wrecks Authority, welcomed the experiment, saying: "Bermuda has a rich underwater heritage, both man-made and natural, which is now protected by law.

"It is important that the scientists working on both types of this legacy work together to promote conservation and enhancement of those valuable resources.

"We look forward in this instance to seeing a report that the corals removed from their home on a historic shipwreck have in fact flourished in their new setting."

BREAM's Dr. Murdoch said: "This Government-backed project is important as we can protect the corals from the wreck, and at the same time bring a damaged reef back to health two big wins for Bermuda's ocean environment."

And Custodian of Historic Wrecks Dr. Philippe Rouja added: "We will continue to monitor this wreck to see how it is impacted by the cruise ship movements over the season.

"The wreck however has now been well documented as part of the Historic Impact Assessment it underwent last year with an archaeological team from East Carolina University.

"These iron wrecks over time will eventually degrade completely and disappear and so we are very glad we have been able to document one of the work vessels that we presume helped to build and service the Dockyard.

"Documenting the coral on the wreck however would not serve the same function and so I am very pleased Dr Murdoch came up with a plan to give the coral a new life somewhere where it is needed.

"Frankly, I am pleasantly surprised at how effective the transplant process seems to work."

Work started on March 12 and 13 and will be finished as soon as the weather improves.