Submarine rescue ship leaves 'ghost fleet'

The Ortolan left the James River Reserve Fleet this morning, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The submarine rescue ship, part of the aging "ghost fleet" off Fort Eustis in Newport News,  is heading to Esco Marine Inc. of Brownsville, Texas.

After the two-week journey, the ship will be recycled. 

The U.S. Maritime Administration, which manages the fleet, has announced disposal contracts worth nearly $900,000 for the Ortolan and the Gage. 

The contracts break a trend in which ship recyclers were paying the government for old vessels so they could strip the hulls and sell the steel for big money to countries such as China and India.

But with steel prices crashing under the global recession, the government is again paying salvage yards to recycle such ships.

The more famous of the two headed to Texas is the Gage, a former attack transport ship launched in 1944 that received a battle star for service during World War II.

Attempts had been made in recent years to preserve the Gage as a museum piece, given its history in Pacific operations at Guadalcanal, Okinawa, the Philippines and New Guinea, among others. But in the end, no deal could be struck.

Built in 1969, the Ortolan was a submarine rescue ship. It still holds more than 27 tons of waste oils but is classified as one of the least likely vessels in the James River fleet to spring a leak, according to a 2002 inventory.

The Gage, by contrast, is considered more likely to leak, though it carries little if any waste fuel but remains loaded with lead, asbestos and other toxic materials, according to the inventory.

Government officials, community leaders and environmentalists have been concerned for years about a possible spill from the ghost fleet, fearing its potential to contaminate the historic James River, nearby Jamestown and other sensitive areas along the shoreline.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner once called the ghost fleet "a ticking time bomb" and urged its quick demise.

Since 2001, the Maritime Administration has stepped up its ship-removal program, sending 78 rusting vessels anchored in the James to salvage yards or converting them to artificial reefs.

When the Gage leaves Virginia waters within the next several days, the ghost fleet will stand at fewer than 30 ships - its lowest count ever, according to officials and historians.

Esco Marine will be paid $564,910 to scrap the Gage and $325,090 to recycle the Ortolan, according to government figures.

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340 scott.harper@pilotonline.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report.