space Press Releases, News Stories

by ARMANDO ROGGIO, American Metal Market

For years, Nassco has been converting and refitting ships at its 147-acre facility in San Diego, Calif., tearing out a ship's innards and making them new again. The company would like the opportunity to take that one step further--shearing a retired ship's hull so the metal can be recycled and made new again.

As it turns out, the U.S. government is looking for someone to do just that--to recycle its rusting fleet of retired warships, which some estimates put at 185 vessels. But there is a problem: The U.S. Navy and Maritime Administration's ship-scrapping program came under fire late last year after local newspapers reported substandard environmental and safety conditions at several shipbreaking facilities in the United States and abroad.

A couple of potential solutions for the agency's ship-scrapping problems have been offered. One of the best, as far as Nassco is concerned, came from Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.). Mikulski and co-sponsors Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D., Md.) and Sen. John Glenn (D., Ohio) introduced legislation all but banning the export of U.S. vessels for scrapping and creating pilot programs under which the government would provide domestic shipbreakers with funds to offset the costs of complying with certain environmental and safety regulations (AMM Online, May 13).

Nassco thought this was a good idea. "We are not lobbying (for Mikulski's bill)," said Fred Hallet, NASSCO vice president. "But if the government makes the decision, we would actively pursue that market."

He said that "government laws say we have to do business in a certain (safe) way in the state of California and in the United States. If the government pays our costs of doing business in that way, I think this could work."

Several other shipbreakers and shipyards would agree--if someone else is willing to pay expenses, it is pretty easy to make a profit--but even parties that don't stand to make money on the deal think it is a good idea.

"I believe the government is going to have to start taking some financial responsibility for this problem," said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network, a group promoting ratification and enforcement of the U.N.-backed Basel Convention. "I think (shipbreaking) can even be marginally profitable once it is re-established."

The alternative is for the U.S. government to sell vessels to the highest bidder, which is likely to be breakers in places like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where environment and safety issues often are ignored.

(c) 1998 Chilton Media Inc. All rights reserved.