'Ghost fleet' shrinks as risky ships are removed

NEWPORT NEWS

The "ghost fleet" is shrinking right on schedule, Gov. Tim Kaine said Thursday as he praised the progress being made in removing environmentally risky ships from the James River Reserve Fleet.

The fleet, which included more than 800 ships in the years after World War II, now numbers 25 after the Escape was recycled this week. During a news conference at Fort Eustis, Kaine said 17 more ships are expected to be moved out by the end of the year.

Nearly 80 of the ships have been scrapped since 2001, but there has been concern that the remaining ships could create a toxic spill or other accident that might devastate the shores.

The remaining ships don't pose a high risk, David Matsuda, an administrator with the Maritime Administration, said. Oils, liquid PCBs, and asbestos have been removed from the ships, he said, and most of the ships with the worst hull conditions and the largest amounts of oil are on the West Coast.

The cost of removing the remaining ships will be highly dependent on the economy, said Frank Daniels, a regional director with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, noting that the market for selling the ships has dwindled over the past year.

Meanwhile, Matsuda said, the fleet is being used for military and law enforcement training, and many people work "quality jobs" helping to recycle and dispose of the ships.

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5846, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com