[CPEO-MEF] Local yard wins in bid to scrap 5 “ghost” ships

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Virginia
THE VIRGINIA PILOT
Local yard wins in bid to scrap 5 “ghost” ships
By Scott Harper
September 4, 2003

Bay Bridge Enterprises, a Chesapeake salvage yard, has won a $2.7
million contract to dismantle five dilapidated ships from the James
River “Ghost Fleet,’’ the U.S. Maritime Administration announced
Wednesday.

The scrap company, located on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth
River, becomes the first local yard to receive funds appropriated last
year by Congress to dispose of unwanted ships deemed most likely to
spring oil leaks and pollute the James.

Two Texas facilities have been awarded federal contracts this year to
get rid of five old cargo and military-support ships.

And a British company, Able UK, is slated to break down 13 rusting hulks
from the James River Reserve Fleet, better known as the Ghost Fleet or
Mothball Fleet.


Established after World War I, the fleet today consists of about 100
large vessels, most of which are obsolete and awaiting removal. They
straddle the navigational channel on the James, and are located off Fort
Eustis in Newport News.

Steve Dunavent, general manager of Bay Bridge Enterprises, said the
contract will mean hiring between 50 and 60 workers once the five ships
are towed to the yard. That should happen before the end of the year, he
said.

This article can be viewed at:
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=59220&ran=74270iewed
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