ABLE UK Forges Ahead with Plans to Scrap U.S. "Ghost Ships"

Even as other port cities in the UK continue to fight dismantling of obsolete marine vessels in their port facilities, ABLE UK advised MarEx on Tuesday that they were pressing ahead with plans to dismantle and process the 13 ships, which it agreed to take from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). Four of the thirteen ships have already been towed from the United States to Hartlepool (UK), before local opposition and litigation halted the process.

Dock sites in the city of Wirral had also been identified in a government report as possible sites for disposing of the obsolete ships. However, the Wirral council has not been openly receptive to having the toxic ships come to their community, even though there are potential economic benefits and increased jobs.

Over the years, ABLE has become a significant player in ship dismantling and demolition industry. However, it has mostly specialized in processing large outdated and contaminated facilities such as power stations, oil, gas, and petrochemical installations.

A MARAD spokesperson in Washington advised MarEx on Wednesday evening that no legal impediments in the United States remained and that “MARAD looked forward to seeing Able UK to secure the necessary permits to allow the continuation of the dismantling process.” As MARAD waits for good news from overseas, they announced the sale of two more obsolete vessels for dismantling on Wednesday. Continuing a positive trend reflecting the high price for scrap metal, MARAD was able to secure payment of $50,000 for each of the ships. In the past, MARAD has had to pay others to take the ships away.

As Able UK looks towards scrapping the four ships already in place, MARAD continues to look for creative ways to dispose of the many so-called “Ghost Fleet” hulls located in Virginia, Texas and California. The sinking of the decommissioned U.S. aircraft carrier ORISKANY, completed last week in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, is a perfect example of this. Although the ORISKANY is a naval vessel, it was taken from the MARAD fleet in Beaumont, Texas.

The $20 million sinking was delayed for nearly two years by weather and environmental permit problems, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in eventually approved the sinking of the ship. EPA officials say that toxic residues from the ship will slowly leach out over the estimated 100 years it will take the carrier to rust away, and should pose no danger to marine life.

The sinking comes at roughly the same time as MARAD’s release of its new rules for preparing obsolete ships for reefing. The two events may signal somewhat of a change in MARAD’s strategy for disposing of their still considerable fleet of old, retired vessels.