F@#$NG classic!!!

[mightymanx]

Two never-used Navy “ghost ships” sent for scrap



http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/eCT8cMSBIH1A7Gfgl92_lg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/theenvoy/shipone.jpgThe Henry Eckford (US Navy)

In the era of massive belt-tightening budget cuts, the story of two never-completed, unused Navy ships now being sent to the scrap heap after costing U.S. taxpayers $300 million is a case study in Pentagon waste.
Requisitioned by the U.S. Navy in 1985, the two oil-hauling ships, the Benjamin Isherwood and the Henry Eckford, "have never gone on a mission, were never even completed, yet they cost taxpayers at least $300 million," the Virginia-Pilot's Scott Harper reports (http://hamptonroads.com.nyud.net/2011/07/two-neverfinished-navy-ships-head-scrap-heap).
Now the "ghost ships" are headed from their dock on the James River in Virginia to a Texas scrap yard to be dismantled, Harrop writes. And there's one more catch--the United States awarded a $10 million contract to dismantle four ships, including the Eckford and the Isherwood, to a UK firm, so no money from the reclamation will return to the United States.
You can watch a WUSA newscast (http://wusa9.com/news/article/159204/77/300M-On-Navy-Ships-Never-Finished-Or-Used) about the ships below:

The two vessels were part of a $567 million request for three oilers put out by the Navy, Harrop writes. But the builder, Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Co. in Philadelphia, defaulted on the contract in 1989. A Florida firm contracted to finish the ships cancelled the contract over price disputes in 1993. The ships are now being scrapped, rather than refurbished, because they do not meet modern specs. "[I]t will close one of the saddest chapters in American shipbuilding and for that matter, federal fiduciary folly," writes global maritime commentator Joseph Keefe, Harrop notes.
Harrop has the full story of the ship's long, unfinished fate (http://hamptonroads.com.nyud.net/2011/07/two-neverfinished-navy-ships-head-scrap-heap) over at the Virginia-Pilot.

[vacuum]

Look at the positive side of this...at least they weren't used to kill people and topple genuine governments. Fully completed ships don't add anything more to create wealth and freedom than these did.

[mightymanx]

Scrap steel in the USA is 180/ton

We payed a brittish company 10 million dollars to cut them up and then they get to sell the scrap and keep the cash.

It's not like we could use the cash or jobs here.

Like I said in the title fucking classic.

[vacuum]

Classic it is.

[Joe King]

Scrap steel in the USA is 180/ton

We payed a brittish company 10 million dollars to cut them up and then they get to sell the scrap and keep the cash.

It's not like we could use the cash or jobs here.

Like I said in the title fucking classic.

American workers in Brownville Texas will at least get some work out of the deal. I guess that's better than nothing.

From what little I know about shipbreaking, usually the breakers bid on old ships rather than get paid to take them. Or so I thought.
The US gov is involved, so who knows. lol

At the scrap price you mentioned, that means they should make approximately $13,420,000 for both ships.

Is that a fair amount? I dunno.
...but it seems like it'd be cheaper to just SINKEX 'em.

[Celtic Rogue]

The enemy is the govt... the sooner we see this the sooner we can begin.

[Spectrism]

In less than 3 years they will be sorry they did this as China and Russia destroy dozens of US ships. Any sea-worthy vessel will be treasured.

This reminds me of a project for nuclear subs. A pump was spec'd into the RO/desalination water system for drinking water. The pumps had to have all parts X-rayed and traced through manufacturing. The pump, unfortunately, was subject to rupture if a procedure was incorrectly followed and that would contaminate the entire drinking water system. A correction to the pump design was made. BUT- because they would have to totally re-evaluate the "new" pump, the old design was kept- putting sailors at risk. Somebody turns one valve out of sequence and the sub has no drinking water.

[7th trump]

In less than 3 years they will be sorry they did this as China and Russia destroy dozens of US ships. Any sea-worthy vessel will be treasured.

This reminds me of a project for nuclear subs. A pump was spec'd into the RO/desalination water system for drinking water. The pumps had to have all parts X-rayed and traced through manufacturing. The pump, unfortunately, was subject to rupture if a procedure was incorrectly followed and that would contaminate the entire drinking water system. A correction to the pump design was made. BUT- because they would have to totally re-evaluate the "new" pump, the old design was kept- putting sailors at risk. Somebody turns one valve out of sequence and the sub has no drinking water.
Naaaaaa..........................soviet russia gets their asses handed to them on a gold platter.
They lose heavily.......left with nothing when its all done and said with.

[palani]

American workers in Brownville Texas will at least get some work out of the deal.

Odd. Rather than spend millions cutting up old ships in the U.S. many companies employ the practice of running them up on the shallows in Bangladesh for the purpose of scrapping them. Willing to bet that is what happens to these. Brownsville is probably just an intermediate step.

[mightymanx]

They cured the problem by putting two RO units onboard so when they blow the membrane out they have a built in spare.

They could have fixed that problem with some of the cash they would have got from selling the ships instead of paying someone to make a profit off them.

[vacuum]

I'd image the construction of the ships is classified, so they have to be scrapped in a secure way.

[nunaem]

I'd image the construction of the ships is classified, so they have to be scrapped in a secure way.


We wouldn't want the enemy wasting their money too. lol

[Joe King]

What could be classified about a refueling ship? :confused:

[Gaillo]

What could be classified about a refueling ship? :confused:

Those fucks would classify how a PENCIL works if they thought they could get away with it...

True story: I talked with a defense contractor employee once, she said they pretty much classify EVERYTHING, to try and present the "enemy" with an overload of data, not knowing what is TRULY important to steal, etc.

Intelligence agencies are continually raising the bar of stupidity.

You know what John Walker (U.S. Navy spy for Russia for 20 years) said when he finally got caught after passing some of the most secret U.S. crypto data to the soviets? He said "K-Mart has better security than U.S. Naval Intelligence".

[mightymanx]

Nothing classified about an oiler especially one that was never finished just one gigantic waste of fucking money especially the double Hull horse shit most of the oilers the Navy uses are single hull from the 60's. so a new ship from the the late 80's would be no different except better,

Some defense contractors got rich and some congress critter got their pocket lined.

Corruption in the military defense contractors is on par with banks.

[midnight rambler]

Nothing classified about an oiler especially one that was never finished just one gigantic waste of fucking money especially the double Hull horse shit most of the oilers the Navy uses are single hull from the 60's. so a new ship from the the late 80's would be no different except better,

Some defense contractors got rich and some congress critter got their pocket lined.

Corruption in the military defense contractors is on par with banks.

I'd have to say it's far worse, the cover of 'national security' will hide a lot more sin - that sin being global death and destruction on a wholesale basis.

Now of course the agendas of the MIC and the banksters are so intertwined as to be ultimately indistinguishable. Perhaps I'm wrong in my perception and there's really only one common agenda - to suck all the resources out of the rubes and reduce every last surviving rube into a slave serving the ruling class.