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News

MARAD 05-05	Contact: Wes Irvin
Tuesday, February 15, 2005	Tel.: (202) 366-5807

Eighth ‘High-Priority’ Ship Set to Leave James River Reserve Fleet

Wednesday, Feb. 16

An obsolete ship is scheduled to leave the U.S. Maritime Administration’s James River Reserve Fleet on Wednesday, February 16, at approximately 8:30 a.m. When the ship departs, it will be the tenth to leave the fleet since June 2004.

The General William O. Darby, the latest of several ships that have left the river since last summer, will be towed to the Marine Metals facility in Brownsville, Texas, to be dismantled. It is one of the ten high-priority ships the Maritime Administration pledged last June to move out of the James River as quickly as possible. All ten of those ships have disposal contracts in effect; with the departure of the General Darby, eight of those high-priority ships will have left.

The General William O. Darby was first constructed as the Admiral W.S. Sims (AP-127), a P-2 Admiral-type troop ship and used by the Army Transport Service to return troops to the United States from the Southwest Pacific. The vessel underwent conversion for peacetime transport in mid-1946. In July 1967, it was placed in ready-reserve status in the Maritime Administration’s James River Reserve Fleet. Thirteen years later, the General Darby was selected for conversion and upgrade into a barracks ship for use by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

The departure schedule is subject to weather and safety clearances. Preparations for towing must be approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. Towing can take place only after the ship is deemed safe and seaworthy and if weather permits.

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