World Record-Breaking 70-Foot Cockroach to be Submerged in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is about to have a giant steel cockroach submerged in it. We did not have this on our 2024 bingo card; however, while it sounds crazy, it's actually for a good cause.

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While it sounds like a silly project, it's actually more serious than you might think. According to Will Landier, the project's goal is to continue helping our country feed itself.

It’s unbelievable. I mean, I can’t hardly describe it here right now. You would have to see some of the studies that show how much food this produces for our country. And behind all the fun and joking of the giant cockroach, it’s really serious business that NOAA is involved in and many agencies to keep our country in a position to feed itself.

The 70-foot steel cockroach will be sunk into the Gulf and turned into a reef.

One of the organizers, Bruno Milanese the owner of Bay Pest Control, told WLOX News more about how they planned on setting a world record.

It’s all welded steel, and it’s welded to the tug boat  Bruno Milanese, I decided if I was going to get involved in it, it was going to be very, very interesting. We decided to create the world’s largest cockroach and make it the world’s only cockroach reef

The plan is to have a 150-foot tug boat carry the giant cockroach 20 miles south of Pascagoula and then it will be sunk 90 feet to the bottom on of the Gulf of Mexico.

Gulf Stream Marine owner Will Landier whos been involved involved in helping rehabilitate the marine environment even agrees that this a 'wild project'.

It’s a pretty wild project, I’ve never done one just like this before, but I have sunk many vessels in the northern Gulf and special reef zones to rehabilitate the marine environment

Creating the world's only cockroach reef was a team effort. Ladnier, who partnered with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and Mississippi Fishing Banks, wanted to ensure that this giant steel cockroach becoming a reef underwater would actually be a success.

First they had to "remove all wood, insulation, plastic, wiring, fuel, oil, hydraulic oil, there’s many things to remove to make it so clean that it fits the marine environment," then the structure is inspected.

There are also "strategic holes to flood each compartment" to ensure that it sinks properly.

The Seafood Museum in Biloxi will house the 70-Foot cockroach before being sunk to its permanent home at the end of July in the Gulf of Mexico.

Full interview here.