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  • Originally posted by tyrosalt View Post
    Marad contracted All Star Metals, Brownsville to recycle the USCG cutters Iris (WLB-395) and Planetree (WLB-307) on 10th September. All Star will be paid $1,359,400.00.

    The vessels will be cleaned at Mare Island before they leave from there as a double tow.

    I will update this post as soon as I get the dates for the dry docking. The cutters have to leave within 14 days of undocking.
    Passed over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge last week. Could see the Iris and Planetree sitting off by themselves. Once they are out it looks like Suisun will be down to four ships. What a difference from the 100+ I saw in 1999.

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    • Appreciate the notification that PLANETREE and IRIS are finally going to be put out of their misery. According to Joe Pecoraro, fleet manager of the SBRF: "IRIS and PLANETREE are scheduled to depart the Reserve Fleet on December 11, arriving at Mare Island Dry Dock the same day. They should be in the drydock for hull cleaning and completion of towing preparations for a few days. The tentative towing date to Brownsville for the ships is on or about December 21."

      In addition to the $1,359,400 for the recycling, the contract for cleaning, sea chest blanking and hull strengthening prior to leaving the Bay area is another $358,485. https://voa.marad.dot.gov/Solicitati...0SN%20both.pdf

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      • Received a tip from a local Coast Guard Veteran that he had communicated with Mare Island Drydock LLC and the work set for PLANETREE and IRIS had been completed and both ships were floating and free of the graving dock as of yesterday. The oceangoing tug RACHEL arrived yesterday afternoon and moored at Mare Island overnight. According to the SF Bar Pilot's schedule, RACHEL departed at 0700 today, 20 DEC, with PLANETREE and IRIS in tow. This was one day ahead of the anticipated schedule as shared by MARAD's SBRF office. AIS showed tug LIBERTY assisting with the initial part of the tow as it got underway in the San Pablo Strait. ETA at the Golden Gate was appx 1140 local time based on AIS. ETA for Balboa, Panama, and the Pacific Entrance of the Canal is 12 JAN 2019. IRIS entered the SBRF following her decommissioning in 1995 and PLANETREE in 1999. It appears that the weather in the Bay area was quite foggy/hazy this morning.

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        • Yes, it was foggy and hazy this morning. I crossed the Benicia Bridge at 10:00 am and noticed a hole over at Suisun.

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          • Updates to MARAD Recycling news

            HRP Brownsville is recycling Ex Cape Lobos, an old RO-RO out of the Beaumont (8/2/2018) for $1,512,579

            HRP Brownsville is recycling Ex Simon Lake (Ex-AS-33), an old Sub Tender (12/10/2018) for $1,737,576

            International Shipbreaking Ltd. is recycling Ex Tripoli (Ex-LPH-13), (4/17/2018) for $1,450,000

            All Star Metal's is recycling Ex Observation Island (AGM-23), (4/3/2018) for $68,283

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            • Carrier scrapping plans advance

              The lawsuit which started after the cleaning of the hull of the Independence concluded 29th January. A ten year moratorium has been agreed on in water cleaning which applies to all six inactive ships currently moored at PSNS. While the moratorium lasts any ship removed must be cleaned in drydock.

              https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...n-puget-sound/

              This ties in with a post place on the SAM.gov website in November 2019 which stated:

              The Naval Sea Systems Command is conducting market research to determine industry capability and interest in performing the towing and dismantlement/disposal of ex-KITTY HAWK (CV 63) and ex-JOHN F KENNEDY (CV 67).

              Indicated years were FY2020 for CV63 and FY2021 for CV67. Replies were required by 4th December.

              https://beta.sam.gov/opp/c2b91ed45c5...r_values=false

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              • Reportedly, the Dino Chouest is on her way to Bremerton to pick up Kitty Hawk for her tow to Brownsville and scrapping. Dino Chouest just exited the Panama Canal. Dino Chouest last towed Independence from Bremerton to Brownsville.
                https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais...l:DINO_CHOUEST

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                • The recycling contract for the Kitty Hawk hasn't been issued yet. There will be a competition starting this month for CV63 and CV67 with the intention of issuing a separate award for each carrier. The announcement dated 7th April can be found here:

                  https://beta.sam.gov/opp/eed1a0e23ab...n_id=300000188

                  One point to note is that the caisson for drydock 6 at PSNS is due to be towed to Vigor's shipyard for overhaul sometime in July and won't return for several months at least. Fitting the cleaning of the Kitty Hawk in before the caisson is removed seems difficult unless the recycling contract is issued pretty quickly. And the ship must be cleaned in drydock before it can leave.
                  Last edited by tyrosalt; 07 Apr 20,, 23:40.

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                  • Naval Sea Systems Command posted an official suspension of the process for recycling the Kitty Hawk and Kennedy on 7th July.

                    Potential contractors had been offered ship inspections of CV63 from 13-17 July and CV67 from 20-24 July. Both were cancelled.

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                    • Is this just a stay of execution or are these being setting up as museum ships?
                      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                      Mark Twain

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                      • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                        Is this just a stay of execution or are these being setting up as museum ships?
                        If anything I think it's just the reality that scrap steel prices are way low and that the recyclers weren't prepared to take the risk. CV63 was intended to be the first to go so the cost of towing from PSNS to Brownsville had to be considered as well.

                        Marad sold Cape Alexander and Cape Archway for $100 from the JRRF to International Shipbreaking if the information I have is correct as the contract has never been posted. That's how little scrap ships are worth at present.

                        I may of course be totally wrong and will keep watching for further announcements!

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                        • Originally posted by tyrosalt View Post
                          Marad sold Cape Alexander and Cape Archway for $100 from the JRRF to International Shipbreaking if the information I have is correct as the contract has never been posted. That's how little scrap ships are worth at present.
                          If my memory serves me, I think at least one of the Constellation (my old ship), Forrestal, Saratoga and Ranger bunch of carriers was sold to International Shipbreaking for $1. Scrapper had responsibility for tow, security, and scrapping operations. The Navy is under some pressure to just get rid of them.

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                          • Originally posted by thebard View Post
                            If my memory serves me, I think at least one of the Constellation (my old ship), Forrestal, Saratoga and Ranger bunch of carriers was sold to International Shipbreaking for $1. Scrapper had responsibility for tow, security, and scrapping operations. The Navy is under some pressure to just get rid of them.
                            You are right. At the time scrap steel was fetching around $380 per metric ton. A recycler could cover all its costs from the sales.

                            Not long afterwards the price dropped over 50% in a few months. Marine Metals and Bay Bridge Texas both went to the wall and have not reopened. ESCO was closed for over a year until it was bought out by HRP and the existing contracts novated.

                            The position at the moment is similar. Scrap prices rose steadily until a peak of nearly $400 in 2018 and then fell again throughout 2019. In October 2018 the Simon Lake (AS33) was worth $1.738 million scrap value to SteelCoast. Every sale after that brought in less return until the two I mentioned previously. By which time scrap steel was fetching $180 tonne and still going down.

                            Given the fluctuations in these prices I think NAVSEA probably haven't got the sale timing right. They definitely want the Kitty Hawk to go first, but PSNS won't be able to drydock it for cleaning until after the Xmas break. Then it has to be towed to Brownsville. So it arrives mid 2021ish. Nobody knows what the price of scrap will be by then, so how would it be possible to make a realistic bid which at least covers their costs?

                            In addition it takes up to 2 years to scrap a carrier, so the trend in scrap prices is important. if it's falling the recycler might make a serious loss. They can't just slow down or stop work until times are better either as there are penalties for not completing the contract within the agreed period.

                            CV67 is closer in Philadelphia, but doesn't seem ready to be sold. No money was allocated for that in 2019, $6.7 million in 2020 and the request for 2021 is $7.3 million. So that's not an alternative now.

                            All of which is a long way of saying I think the carriers will be sold for scrap, but not until they can be be towed away without long delays.
                            Last edited by tyrosalt; 12 Jul 20,, 10:17. Reason: Additional information.

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                            • I was wrong!

                              I think I said I could be wrong.

                              And I was. NAVSEA posted the formal invitation to dismantle both carriers late yesterday afternoon (23rd July). A single contractor is required to tow and recycle. Link is:

                              https://beta.sam.gov/opp/3ff0c00e67a...r_values=false

                              The details are over 200mbytes and include a bunch of original CV60 class plans and diagrams.

                              Responses by 24th August (that could change). Both ships have to be removed by 12 months after contract date and the scrapping completed by 36 months after.

                              Two things I was right about:

                              The Kitty Hawk won't be ready until up to 8 months after date of contract due to drydocking.

                              The contractor is expected to cover their costs from the sale of scrap steel, etc. If they think they can't, however, they can specify how much they think they will need from the Navy. That's new.
                              Last edited by tyrosalt; 24 Jul 20,, 13:00. Reason: Typo

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                              • Perusing those documents, I immediately noticed that it includes drawings/space layout for Saratoga instead of Kitty Hawk. I wonder why? I think there are a lot of underwater similarities between Kitty Hawk and the Nimitz class, but that didn't keep them from including those details of Kennedy.
                                Last edited by thebard; 24 Jul 20,, 13:49.

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