Exorcising the Ghost Fleet of Suisun Bay
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On February 7, 2008, Baykeeper testified to the environmental harm caused by the Ghost Fleet in front of the California Legislature's Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. See our presentation here.
Baykeeper is challenging the US Maritime Administration for its failure to protect the waters of the San Francisco Bay and Delta Estuary from pollution created by a ghost fleet of toxic ships. More than fifty decommissioned and deteriorating vessels are anchored in Suisun Bay, leaching toxic paint and heavy metals into the water and sediment of the Bay. On October 29, 2007, Baykeeper, Arc Ecology, and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit to force the Maritime Administration to clean up the ships in compliance with state and federal hazardous waste laws and the National Environmental Policy Act. The groups also plan to hold the federal agency accountable for complying with state and federal clean water laws.
Floating Toxic Waste Dumps
A February 2007 report commissioned to assess the environmental impact of the ghost fleet revealed that the ships are a significant source of pollution. The paint on these ships is highly toxic, containing barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury and zinc. Already, at least 18 tons of the pollutants on the ships has fallen into the Bay. Pollutants in the sediment directly below the vessels were found to be in concentrations that exceed California’s hazardous waste toxicity criteria and in levels high enough for sediment-dwelling creatures to consume the toxins, which introduces them to the food chain of the Bay.
Cleaning Up the Ghost Fleet
The Maritime Administration must dispose of the ghost fleet in an environmentally responsible way. The Maritime Administration has reportedly considered scraping the hulls of the ships in preparation for transport to Texas. The scraping process can release dangerous heavy metals and invasive species harmful to the Bay and local communities. Transport of the vessels also poses many environmental risks. Baykeeper, Arc Ecology, and NRDC are working to ensure that the Maritime Administration manages cleanup of the ghost fleet quickly and safely.
How the Ghost Fleet Came To Be
The ships in the ghost fleet were decommissioned and placed in “storage” in Suisun Bay after World War II and the Korean War with the idea that they could be reactivated for wartime use. The vessels are no longer seaworthy, however, and Suisun Bay has become a junkyard for these ships: water must be pumped from them regularly to keep them afloat, they leak fuel, and most are severely rusted and are peeling toxic paint. The ghost fleet does not belong in Suisun Bay anymore – it’s been haunting our waters for far too long!