Three More Ships Head for Shipbreakers

The Maritime Administration's Captain William G. Schubert announced disposal contracts for three more ships in the James River Reserve Fleet. With the announcement, 37 ship disposal contracts have been awarded since the beginning of 2001, and 24 ships have left the James River Reserve Fleet.

"Today marks another day of real progress as we work to address the inherited challenges of the James River Reserve fleet," said Captain William Schubert. "Let me be very clear that we will continue to make progress on this issue and work to get this job done."

The three ships, the Santa Isabel, the Mormacwave, and the American Ranger, are all designated "high priority" for disposal by the Maritime Administration (MARAD). Esco Marine, of Brownsville, TX, was awarded the contract to dismantle all three ships. Joining Captain Schubert for the announcement, which was made at the fleet site at Ft. Eustis in Newport News, were Senator John W. Warner and Representative Jo Ann S. Davis.

"Following today’s announcement we will only have two ships left in the fleet with hulls in ‘extremely poor’ condition," said Captain Schubert. "I am very optimistic that those ships will be departing in the near future and we will be another step closer to removing these high priority ships from the James River."

The following list details contract awards made this year:

Marine Metals 3 ships$ 3.1 million

ESCO Marine 3 ships$ 3.2 million