14 September 2004 – Two obsolete ships in the James River Reserve Fleet became a symbol of revival for Baltimore Harbor on Monday. Federal transportation officials awarded a $2.3 million scrapping contract to the company that runs the Sparrows Point shipyard.

Sparrows Point - a bustling Baltimore yard during World War II - closed last year, after its previous owner filed for bankruptcy protection and laid off more than 200 workers. A Boston-based partnership called Barletta Willis bought the yard in March and promised to revive the area.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta toured the 250-acre yard Monday and announced a $2.3 million contract to North American Ship Recycling, a new subsidiary of Barletta Willis.

"These contracts could be just the beginning," said Mineta, whose department oversees the James River Reserve Fleet. "If they go well and if the company is competitive in future bids, more ships could follow next year."

The company is expected to add 50 people, nearly doubling its existing payroll, to dismantle two ships: the 459-foot-long Lauderdale, built in 1944, and the 544-foot-long Mormacmoon, built in 1965. The ships will leave the fleet near the end of the year.

Kilroe Ferretti, director of engineering for the company's Sparrow Point Shipyard and Industrial Complex, said North American Ship Recycling would continue to compete for more James River Reserve Fleet jobs.

"We feel very good about it," Ferretti said about the announcement. "It's in line with what we had envisioned when we purchased the shipyard. We are doing not only repairs here. But we will be doing ship recycling."

The James River Reserve Fleet was established in 1946 to hold ships that could move cargo during wartime or national emergencies.

Today, it includes 60 obsolete ships.

The Lauderdale and Mormacmoon are among eight high-priority ships that the U.S. Maritime Administration considers the most environmentally dangerous vessels.

Two high-priority ships departed the fleet earlier this summer, with three more contracted for scrapping in Texas.

During World War II, the Lauderdale brought U.S. troops to Japan and retrieved sailors who survived the sinkings of their ships in the Pacific Ocean, according to the Naval Historical Center.

The Mormacmoon leaked oil in 2002, causing a mile-long sheen in the James River. Earlier the same year, wake from a military exercise caused the ship to list precariously in the water.

The Maritime Administration previously planned to scrap the Mormacmoon in Texas.

The agency substituted another ship this summer because the Mormacmoon was not ready for travel.

The ship should be in adequate condition to get to the Baltimore shipyard by year's end, said Robyn Boerstling, a Transportation Department spokeswoman.

The Coast Guard must approve all travel plans to make sure that the ships are safely towed without leaking.

Mike Dunavent, general manager of Bay Bridge Enterprises in Chesapeake, said his company was still busy dismantling what's left of five ships that came from the James River fleet last year.

His company is actively pursuing more scrapping contracts with the Maritime Administration, which manages the ghost fleet.

"We've got plenty we're working on," Dunavent said.

Copyright ©2004 The Daily Press