The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MarAd) announced that North American Ship Recycling is buying the World War II-era vessel Hoist for $61,000. The ship will soon be leaving the James River, headed for the firm’s facility at Sparrows Point, near Baltimore, Md.
When the Hoist departs, it will be the 60th ship to depart the James
River fleet since January 2001.
The Hoist, a Navy rescue and salvage ship built in 1945, served with distinction for 49 years, and entered the James River Reserve Fleet in 1994. In 1964 and again in 1966 it participated in significant undersea searches: first for the lost attack submarine USS Thresher, and later for the recovery of a hydrogen bomb lost off Palomares, Spain after the crash of a B-52 bomber. The latter events were depicted in the 2000 motion picture Men of Honor, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., as Master Diver Carl Brashear.
The Maritime Administration keeps ships in three National Defense Reserve Fleet sites to support Armed Forces movements and to respond to national emergencies. Those sites are the James River Reserve Fleet in Newport News, Va., Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas, and
Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, Calif. When the ships become obsolete, the Maritime Administration arranges for their disposition in an environmentally sensitive manner.