News

MARAD 07-06	Contact: Shannon Russell
Friday, June 16, 2006	Tel.: (202) 366-5807

Four Ships to Leave MARAD Reserve Fleet Sites

Contracts announced for ships leaving James River and Beaumont Reserve Fleets

Four ships moored in Virginia and Texas will be headed to recycling yards under contracts announced today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). Two of the ships are from the James River Reserve Fleet in Newport News, VA and two are located in the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Texas. The announcement brings to 10 the number of dismantling contracts signed by MARAD in the last two weeks.

The ships scheduled for recycling include the Saugatuck, a former Navy oil refueling vessel built in 1942, to be dismantled at Bay Bridge Enterprises, LLC, of Chesapeake, VA, under the terms of a contract worth $549,999; the Orion, a submarine tender built in 1943, destined to North American Ship Recycling of Sparrows Point, MD, under a contract for $734,230; the 1962-vintage freighter Brinton Lykes to Marine Metal, Inc., of Brownsville, TX, for $541,647; and the Pride II, a tanker built in 1959, headed for All Star Metals, LLC, of Brownsville, in a deal worth $561,647.

“We’ve exceeded our ship disposal goals for this fiscal year,” noted Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson. “We hoped to sign contracts for 13 ships from all fleet sites, but we’ve already signed 17 contracts with three months left in the fiscal year.” "We're moving ships to scrap yards as fast as we can," she added.

Ship contractors have up to 30 days to remove a ship once a contract is signed. Once removed, the Saugatuck and the Orion will bring to 12 the number of ships MARAD has removed from the James River Reserve Fleet since last October.

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