A ranking Worldwide Salvage official assured, though, that the company will abide by all laws and international regulations.

David C. Sablan, Worldwide Salvage vice president of administration, also stressed that they welcome any individual, group, or organization that wants to scrutinize the company's plans.

In a report published in InsideBayArea.com, Basel Action Network's Colby Self said their fleet of lawyers will look into the law once the company gets a contract from Maritime Administration.

The Commonwealth Ports Authority approved in February the lease agreements for Worldwide Salvage, allowing it to use space and a warehouse at the Saipan seaport for the initial $16 million ship disposal program.

Although the firm has yet to secure a contract with the Maritime Administration for its ship disposal program, Sablan assured yesterday that the company will comply with all the local and federal laws, including international regulations on the disposal of toxic materials.

“[Worldwide Salvage] could and would provide express promise that [it] would neither deliberately cause an accident nor cause any direct or indirect violation to any of the regulatory laws and/or regulations pertaining to the [ship disposal program]. To risk such malicious act is compromising the continuity of the [program] on Saipan or elsewhere. Any willful violations would take away the MARAD contract,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.

Saipan Tribune learned that the MARAD contract will be issued once the company submits all technical compliance requirements and pending Maritime Administration review, which will include a visit to the site.

Worldwide Salvage is reportedly seeking to acquire the Suisun Bay vessels, which were previously being scrapped almost exclusively at yards in Brownsville, Texas. The company wants to tow the ships to Saipan and scrap them here for sale to mainland China. Suisun Bay is in northern California.

The Basel Action Network is worried that the company may violate federal law restricting the disposal of U.S. ships to domestic scrapping yards, or the international ban on the export of toxic vessels.

The InsideBayArea.com report described some of the older Suisun ships as “in horrible condition” and the voyage of more than 4,000 nautical miles through the Pacific Ocean makes “the likelihood of sinking a definite possibility.”

Insurance policy

As part of the company's security plan, Worldwide Salvage is required to secure general liability insurance coverage up to $5 million in the event of an accident, be it toxic waste or heavy equipment incident, by the federal government. CPA requires coverage up to $10 million.

“WWSS cannot commence the ship disposal plan without such insurance policy,” said Sablan, adding that they are fulfilling all these requirements.

It will also provide safety training to its personnel before they even commence dismantling and would provide follow-up training.

Sablan added that they will offer wages and salaries better than the current minimum wage at all levels.

Sablan pointed out that the company has performed ship dismantling on Saipan during the mid-'90s under the watchful eyes of the U.S. Coast Guard, Division of Environmental Quality and Coastal Resources Management and there were no violations cited to or issued against the company.

”[Worldwide Salvage] cannot promise the people that the workplace at the salvage operation will be 'human error' free, but we will do and make every effort to make the workplace safe as humanly possible,” added Sablan.