Shipbreaking
is back. The Port of Astoria has been approached by Blue Ocean Environmental of
Portland with a proposal to dismantle ships at Tongue Point.
As Edward Stratton
reported in his Wednesday article, in 1999 Cresmont Technical Services of
Seattle approached the Division of State Lands about shipbreaking at Tongue
Point. Earlier in the 1990s, there was a separate proposal to dismantle ships
at the Port of Astoria docks. Then-Port Commissioner June Spence remembers
being skeptical of that concept, which never came to fruition.
Globally, shipbreaking
is big business. Most of it happens in developing nations with lax
environmental regulations. The U.S. Navy has facilities dedicated to ship
dismantling. The Navy’s operations are carried out in sealed facilities.
Ships contain a number
of toxic components, including PCBs. That is one of the hazards of dismantling
a ship next to a body of water.
The other drawback is
how some shipbreakers have taken the most valuable material off a ship and
abandoned the hulk, leaving the host property owner to clean up the mess.
If the Port of Astoria
continues its discussions with Blue Ocean Environmental, the Port must probe
that company’s environmental record and its financial backing.
Twice and for good
reason, proposals of shipbreaking have been rejected at the mouth of the
Columbia River. If Port commissioners read their own history, they will find
good reason to be wary of this newest proposal.
Source:
daily astorian. 18 April 2013
http://www.dailyastorian.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-be-skeptical-of-shipbreaking/article_61bd6650-a84d-11e2-9822-0019bb2963f4.html
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