*Former Maritime Administrator Chip Jaenichen
recently visited Brownsville, TX, a city that dominates the U.S. ship-recycling
industry. Today, we share his comments on the importance of the industry the
area as well as the Maritime Administration’s continuing efforts to dispose of
excess government owned vessels in an environmentally responsible manner.
In early December we had the distinct
privilege of participating in the 3rd Annual Maritime Administration ship
recycling town hall meeting in Brownsville, Texas. The venue brought together federal ship disposal
programs, government safety and environmental agencies and domestic ship
recycling industry representatives with direct involvement in the disposal of
U.S. Government-owned obsolete ships into a forum where the current issues
impacting federal agencies and ship recycling industry are addressed and
discussed.
MARAD provided to the domestic recycling
industry an overview of existing and future planning for federal ship recycling
activities, including ship disposal forecasts, vessel downgrades for disposal,
potential budgetary impacts and safety and environmental concerns. The meeting offered an opportunity to listen
to industry concerns, issues and suggestions related to ship disposal
activities, including the impact of scrap steel prices, future price trends,
vessel disposal solicitations and safety and environmental issues.
Domestic ship recyclers provide an important
and invaluable industrial base for the disposal of obsolete Government owned
vessels. Consider the following:
- Ship recycling is the most cost effective
and expeditious ship disposal method and has significantly contributed to the
disposal of approximately 219 obsolete MARAD ships since2001.
- Obsolete vessels are recycled in compliance
with Environmental Protection Agency , Occupational Safety and Health
Administration and state and local laws and regulations, which helps to protect
the environment and worker health and safety.
- Recycling assists federal agencies in
protecting the environment of fleet anchorages by removing obsolete ships before
they become an environmental liability.
- Ship recycling provides good jobs to local
workers and specialty remediation companies and contributes to the success of
the local economies in Brownsville, Texas, Amelia, La., and New Orleans.
Following the town hall, representatives from
federal agencies and the state of Texas toured the recycling facilities located
within the Port of Brownsville and offered insights into the impact of
worldwide and domestic scrap metal prices in relation to each recycler’s strategy
for acquisition of obsolete government and commercial vessels for
dismantlement, facility improvements to continually gain production
efficiencies and reduce costs, adherence to safety and environmental practices
and the constant juggling of the myriad variables that are factored into
estimating future scrap steel pricing when tendering offers for recycling
projects. Visible within the ship
recycling facilities were federal and commercial barges and ships and oil rigs
all in various stages of dismantlement, which attests to the diversification of
recycling projects the industry has undertaken.
Domestic ship recycling is a dynamic industry
that provides an important service in disposing of obsolete U.S. Government and
commercial vessels. The town hall
meeting and ship recycling facility tours provide ongoing opportunity to forge
better partnerships and understanding with regard to the impacts of the scrap
steel markets, business forecasting and focus on protecting workers and the
environment. These types of industry
forums are essential to MARAD making a positive contribution within the
maritime community. We want to personally thank the entire domestic recycling
community, the Port of Brownsville and our federal partners for working
together to make these town hall meetings a success.
Source:
transportation.gov.
18 January 2017
https://www.transportation.gov/fastlane/marad-hosts-ship-recycling-forum
No comments:
Post a Comment