International Shipbreaking Ltd. to recycle USS Barry

The USS Barry (DD 933), launched on Oct. 1, 1955, has made its final journey to the Port of Brownsville, Texas, where it will be recycled by International Shipbreaking Ltd. LLC.

The USS Barry was built in Bath, Maine, in 1955 and commissioned as the third Forrest Sherman Class Destroyer in 1956.

The USS Barry has taken part in many operations in service to the country, including the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the Vietnam War in 1965 and 1966. After it was commissioned in July 1956, it first operated as part of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, returning in 1958 during the Lebanon Crisis. In 1959, it was fitted with a large SQS-23 sonar which led to it spending the next three years carrying out sonar tests and anti-submarine warfare demonstrations in the Atlantic and Northern European seas. In 1968, the newly recommissioned USS Barry set sail for the Mediterranean Sea where it spent most of the 1970s, most notably being present during the 1973 Middle Eastern War and the 1974 Cyprus Crisis. It was decommissioned in November 1982 after 26 years of service.

Since being decommissioned, USS Barry (DD 933) spent 32 years on display in Washington docked along the Potomac River at the Washington Navy yard. Most recently, it has been moored at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard since 2016.

Chris Green, senior manager at International Shipbreaking Ltd LLC, says, “We have developed a world-class ship recycling operation here at the Port of Brownsville. My team of experienced professionals, the infrastructure, procedures and equipment we have in place enable us to recycle vintage vessels, like the USS Barry, safely, responsibly and respectfully.” The SS Cape Florida and the USS Charles F. Adams are both currently being recycled.

This project will take a total of 6 months with a completion date set for spring 2021.