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An
environmental disaster of unknown consequences
drifts toward reality at the environmentally
sensitive mouth of the James River.
Seventy
old naval vessels, retired from active service, are
quietly moored in the James
River
off of Fort
Eustis.
This fleet of slowly deteriorating ships is
conveniently called “The Reserve Fleet.”
But in reality vast numbers of these once
powerful war machines are rusting away; their stored
oil and chemicals are waiting to ooze out into the
James and then empty into the Chesapeake
Bay.
The
common reference to this rotting fleet is “The
Ghost Fleet,” as it is only a wisp of what these
ships were in the past.
From a distance
in the light of the moon or in the morning fog,
these aging vessels appear like a fleet of imposing
war vessels ready to fight for our freedom.
But any fight has long since departed these
wraiths of the sea.
The
Ghost Fleet, managed by the U.S. Marine
Administration (MARAD), poses a real danger from
catastrophic oil spills and chemical spills. A whole
Devil’s brew of contaminants could severely
endanger the mouth of the James
River,
Chesapeake Bay
and surrounding waters. Imagine the impact of a huge hurricane
whipping these ships around like tooth picks and
smashing them against each other. It’s a nightmare
waiting reality.
Some
in our government propose hauling these rotting
ships to China
for destruction by workers paid $75 a month. Of course, the environmental rules and
regulations in
China
are much weaker than here in the
United
States
and the potential for environmental problems is
greater. The Environmental
Protection Agency has deep concerns about hauling
these ships half way around the world. But U.S. Sen. John Warner,
R-VA, and U.S.
Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-1st. These two Virginians led the fight to find
$31 million to begin the careful dismantling of
these aging ships without harming the environment.
Vassilopoulos
and Williamson LC has some ideas about how to scrap
these ships safely. The Wyoming firm has engaged Bay
Bridge Enterprises, a Norfolk ship-dismantling
company, as one of two key contractors in a novel
proposal. The team's scientists and engineers
believe the ships can be dismantled for about
$750,000 each -- comparable to the cost, including
insurance, of shipping the vessels to China.
Using
innovative HAZMAT (hazardous materials) remediation
techniques, the team is applying for a federal
contract to tear apart the Ghost Fleet. What's more,
Bay Bridge would use Virginia prison inmates to do
much of the work, training them, housing them,
feeding them and paying them. The combined benefits
would be close to minimum wage -- more than they are
paid in prison for stamping license plates.
The inmates will learn marketable trades,
doing real work while performing a valuable service
to our state and our nation.
While the inmates dismantle the Ghost Fleet, the
state budget will be relieved of the
cost of incarcerating them.
Using
prison inmates is not new to Virginia.
The
Commonwealth has employed inmates to
remanufacture items for resale.
Besides
the old warships, there are two brand new, partially
completed oil tankers in the Ghost Fleet. Bay Bridge
and its partners propose converting these two
vessels into carriers of liquefied gas -- work that
could bring $95 million in business to the Hampton
Roads shipyards. Of course, that $95 million will be
multiplied throughout the economy as shipyard
employees buy goods and serves, save, or invest
their money.
Letting
the private sector dismantle the Ghost Fleet makes
sense. It is a
“win-win-win” situation for all of us.
We dismantle the Ghost Fleet before it breaks
apart and spoils our environment.
Prison
inmates learn marketable skills and earn “good
works” credit during their prison time.
Virginia’s
budget saves the cost of supporting the inmates
while they work. And the retrofitting of two vessels
by shipyards
in Hampton Roads boosts the local economy.
The
Ghost Fleet awaits a decision.
Every day, the rust gets thicker and the
steel walls weaker. Every day, the odds increase
that oil and chemicals may leak into the James, or
that a storm will cause an environmental disaster.
Virginia
should pursue this project with the federal
government, taking whatever actions are needed to
speed the process along.
It just makes sense.
--June
2, 2003
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