MarAd prepares four more Reserve Fleet ships for scrapyards

MarAd prepares four more Reserve Fleet ships for scrapyards    The U.S. Maritime Administration announced the removal Friday of another four obsolete vessels from its Reserve Fleet sites, bringing to 10 the number of dismantling contracts signed by the agency within the past two weeks.
   “We’ve exceeded our ship disposal goals for this fiscal year,” said Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson, in a statement. “We hoped to sign contracts for 13 ships from all the fleet sites, but we’ve already signed 17 contracts with three months left in the fiscal year.”
   The ships scheduled for scrapping include the 1942-built former Navy oil refueling vessel “Saugatuck” to Chesapeake, Va.-based Bay Bridge Enterprises for $549,999; the 1943-built submarine tender “Orion” to Sparrows Point, Md.-based North American Ship Recycling for $734,230; the 1962-built freighter “Brinton Lykes” to Marine Metal of Brownsville, Texas, for $541,647; and the 1959-built tanker “Pride II” to All Star Metals of Brownsville, Texas, for $561,647.
   Two of the vessels were kept at the James River Reserve Fleet in Newport News, Va., and the other two at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Texas. Ship contractors have up to 30 days to remove the vessels once the contracts are signed.