No one is buying decommissioned U.S. ships due to poor economy
Decommissioned merchant ships being stored at the Reserve Fleet in Newport News, Virginia have no buyers. According to the U.S. Maritime Administration, salvage companies who would normally buy the old ships for scrap metal haven’t been buying because of the weakened economy. The government puts the decommissioned ships up for sale to see if anyone is interested. When no buyers can be found, the government has been paying companies to scrap the ships.
Most recently, the U.S. government paid Bay Bridge Enterprises $115,200 to scrap the USS Escape, a U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ship that helped aid stricken vessels during World War II. The government is also paying $1.8 million to scrap four other decommissioned ships.
The vice president of Bay Bridge Enterprises pointed out that bidding on a ship for scrap can be a costly prospect, as the salvage companies need to pay for asbestos abatement and remediation of PCBs, fuel and ballast waste before the scrap metal can be used.
For the full story, go to UPI.com.
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