Plan Would Scrap All Of Ghost Fleet

An unidentified business group has submitted a proposal to scrap all remaining ships in the James River ghost fleet, according to a James City County maritime lawyer who might represent the group.

Attorney Morton Clark declined to identify the group Tuesday, saying he needed to seek its permission to go public.

The U.S. Maritime Administration, which owns the environmentally hazardous ships and awards contracts for their disposal, declined to comment.

The federal agency received 23 proposals for ship disposal from 14 companies by Jan. 15, when the invitation period for bids was closed, said spokesman Wes Irvin.

Clark said he did not know where his group's proposal ranked among the myriad plans the agency is reviewing.

About 56 obsolete ships in the James River remain to be scrapped, Irvin said, although the agency retains another 23 ships that it says are needed for military, training or emergency uses.

The Maritime Administration is scrambling to meet a congressional mandate to dispose of all environmentally hazardous ships in the James by 2006.

Progress has been slow, despite tens of millions of dollars provided by Congress to subsidize the costly work. A deal to send 13 ships to England has been delayed by lawsuits. Last month, the agency announced with fanfare a deal to send three ships to Texas scrappers.

The unknown group's proposal, if approved, would be the most dramatic effort to date to remove ships that contain toxic PCBs and asbestos. But it was not clear Tuesday how so many ships could be scrapped with the limited funding the Maritime Administration has available.

The British deal covering 15 ships - of which 13 would be scrapped abroad - cost $17.8 million.

The agency has only $11.9 million available for the remainder of this fiscal year, Irvin said.

Clark suggested his group could scrap a large number of ships because of the rising price of scrap steel, which could be sold at a profit.

"Their proposal is very competitive," he said of the group. "You can actually make money."

Clark had filed a lawsuit on behalf of his wife last spring, demanding the government remove the ships from the James because they represent an environmental hazard. The Clarks own waterfront property in the upscale Kingsmill community in James City.

That suit has stalled while a federal judge decides whether it should be consolidated with a suit filed by environmental activists challenging the export of ships to England, he said. Hampton Roads (Virginia) Daily Press