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Create Artificial Reefs News

18 Jan 2024

Not All Underwater Reefs are Made of Coral

The South Carolina Army National Guard and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources turns unused armored carrier vehicles into an artificial reef off the coast of Beaufort, S.C. in 2014. (Courtesy photo by Phillip Jones/South Carolina Army National Guard)

When people hear about underwater reefs, they usually picture colorful gardens created from coral. But some reefs are anchored to much more unusual foundations.For more than a century, people have placed a wide assortment of objects on the seafloor off the U.S. coast to provide habitat for marine life and recreational opportunities for fishing and diving. Artificial reefs have been created from decommissioned ships, chicken transport cages, concrete pipes, rail cars and more.We study how ocean-dwelling fish use artificial reefs in the U.S. and beyond.

10 May 2004

Ship Disposal Encounters Enviro, Political Hurdles

By Joan M. Bondareff and Charles T. In 2001, Congress directed the Maritime Administration (MarAd) to dispose of all obsolete vessels in its inventory by September 30, 2006, and to do so "in the manner that provides the best value to the Government." At present, MarAd has 104 non-retention ships not under contract in three locations around the country-James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia, Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Texas, and Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in California. MarAd is using a variety of ship disposal options, which include domestic and foreign dismantling/recycling to accomplish this directive. Both have been controversial and foreign scrapping has prompted litigation. This article describes what MarAd is doing and what laws are implicated in this mission. The U.S.

10 May 2006

Preparing Vessels as Artificial Reefs

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) jointly issued guidance for Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended to Create Artificial Reefs. The 77-page guidance document addresses the cleaning of obsolete ships and identifies materials or categories of materials that may be onboard ships. Source: HK Law

16 Jan 2006

Shipbreaking Companies Eye Ghost Fleet

A group of about 129 old ships, collectively known as the Ghost Fleet, which sit idle in a half-dozen ports around the U.S maintained by the U. S. Navy and the U. S. Maritime Administration, or MarAd, have become a target for the industry known as shipbreaking. All but shut down for a few years in the late 1990s amid environmental concerns, the shipbreaking business in the United States is making a comeback. It is being fueled by a convergence of government action with developments in the global steel, energy and freight industries. The driving force is the steel business, which is booming amid demand from China and other fast-growing economies. Just under two-thirds of the 1 billion tons, or $400 billion, in new steel produced each year comes from iron ore.