[CPEO-MEF] Two more head for scrap heap

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Virginia
THE DAILY PRESS
Two more head for scrap heap
Pair of vessels in 'ghost fleet' leave the area for good
By Dave Schleck
Published October 17, 2003

NEWPORT NEWS -- Two more pieces of Naval history left their sleepy berth
in the James River and headed to an English scrap yard on Thursday
morning - a submarine tender called the Canopus and a navigation
instrument ship called the Compass Island.

The ships follow another pair that left last week from the James River
Reserve Fleet to the Able UK Ltd. scrap yard in England. It's part of a
15-ship, $17.8 million deal between Able UK and the Maritime
Administration, which manages the reserve fleet or ghost fleet.

The federal government established the reserve fleet in 1946 as an
inactive group of merchant vessels to be used in times of national
emergencies. But more than 70 of the ships have deteriorated into an
obsolete ghost fleet.

Four tugboats named after members of the McAllister Towing family of
Norfolk helped maneuver the Canopus and Compass Island out of Hampton
Roads. The ships carry a total of more than 124,000 gallons of oil and
other contaminants.

Two environmental groups have filed suit against the Maritime
Administration, saying the Bush administration is skirting federal laws
by allowing the ships to be scrapped overseas. The court case proceeds
with another hearing in Washington, D.C., next week, although a federal
judge already allowed four ships to leave as part of a pilot program.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-94297sy0oct17,0,943743.story?coll=dp-news-local-final

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our 
important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  
Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
http://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0