Shannon Russell News

According to the Daily Press, MarAd has lifted a moratorium on the disposal of ships in the James River Reserve Fleet, clearing the way for more of the rusting ships in the ghost fleet to be removed. The agency had put a temporary freeze on ship disposal last month while state agencies nationwide disputed how the ship hulls are cleaned. The environmental dispute is holding up disposal work in California and Texas, but Virginia officials have let the work proceed. Since last year, the Coast Guard has required that ship hulls be brushed to remove marine growth that may have accumulated before it is towed to foreign waters. Some complained the process could remove lead paint or decayed metals that end up in the water.

According to a Medaia News, Sheets of decayed metals, hull coatings and lead paint more than one-third of an inch thick peeled off two obsolete U.S. Maritime Administration ships when marine growth was scrubbed from their hulls at the Port of Richmond last month, according to a report prepared for the federal government. The toxic material was left in San Francisco Bay, much of it adhered to thick seaweed and barnacles that accumulated on the ships for more than 35 years as they were anchored in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet near Benicia. When the cleaning was done in early August, MarAd said only organic materials would be left in the water.