Encore: SS Lincoln poised for ship demolition at Mare Island

There's a new kid (ship) on the block at Mare Island shipyards.  It's the SS Lincoln, a MothBall Fleet remnant that Allied Defense Recyling will be demolishing in exchange for the SS President.  Both the Times-Herald and San Jose Military History Examiner reported on the story last week.

We contacted Jay Anast, Allied's CEO, a couple of days ago, to find out how his company is ramping up to accommodate both Lincoln and SS Solon Turman contracts.  Anast said that the SS Solon Turman's remediation process - removal of hazardous materials- is 100% complete and his crew is now 'cutting up the ship.'

We asked Anast how he allocates his workforce to work on both ships simultaneously.  "With the Turman remediation finished, we can now free our remediation crew to work on the Lincoln" he says.  He anticipates adding 20 more cutters to work on the cutting phase of the Lincoln.

Anast says that his workers will use the same work flow plan that they followed for the SS Solon Turman demolition.  Last Thursday the dock that will house the Lincoln was 'dewatered' so that it can be fully dried and cleaned.  Assuming the project stays on schedule, Anast expects the Lincoln demolition to be completed by the end of December.

We noticed that the Mare Island Drydocks website (aka Allied Defense Recycling) is getting fleshed out.  It's now worth a visit.  Check out the FAQ, History and Employment sections. There is definitely a sense of hope and renewal emerging as this company takes on new projects.

Similar to any job seeker looking for work, Allied Defense Recycling's 'brand' will enhance as its portfolio of completed projects expands. Becoming MARAD's emergency backup definitely is a feather in its cap, as this recycling blog reports.

Anast told us that one of the ship dismantling projects that his company is currently bidding on is for the submarine tender, the USS Sperry (AS-12), built in 1941 at Mare Island.  Landing that project would add a very meaningful chapter not only to the Sperry but also to the history of Mare Island shipbuilding and its ship demolition future.

Source: Examiner.com. By Patricia Kutza, Vallejo Community Issues Examiner. May 9th, 2011

http://www.examiner.com/community-in-san-francisco/encore-ss-lincoln-poised-for-ship-demolition-at-mare-island