BENICIA >> The last of 57 decaying vessels in the federal government’s iconic “Ghost Fleet” left Suisun Bay last week, ending a long struggle over the toxic pollution leached from the old ships into waters near a major fish nursery and migration area.
State water pollution regulators announced Thursday that the cargo ship Cape Borda cargo is leaving — the last of the ships required to leave Suisun Bay under a legal settlement between the federal Maritime Administration and state environmental regulators and groups.
Toxic paint, PCBs and heavy metals from the mothballed ships polluted the bay, California’s biggest route for salmon, striped bass and other anadramous fish to migrate from the Pacific Ocean into spawning areas upstream.
“The removal of the Cape Borda brings to an end an ongoing source of pollution that threatened the bay and the rich aquatic life it supports for decades,” said David Elias, a senior engineering geologist with the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board. “We thank everyone involved in identifying this environmental threat, and working with us to get it corrected.”
A ceremony to mark the event was held Thursday at the Mare Island Dry Dock, where the Cape Borda was cleaned for invasive species before its scheduled departure Friday to a Texas scrapping company.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Maritime Administrator Joel Szabat said, “Here is perhaps no greater symbol of the maritime industry’s environmental progress than what has been accomplished here.”
While a handful of reserve ships are still anchored in the highly visible “Ghost Fleet” area east of the Interstate 680 Benicia/Martinez bridge, these ships are maintained, cleaned and kept ready to be called into service — unlike the 57 obsolete ships.
“The 57 ships become abandoned toxic junk,” said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of the Oakland-based San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental watchdog group. “Their removal is a milestone in cleaning and protecting the bay.”
Fewer than 10 other ships in remain in the same area, according to the Maritime Administration’s May 2017 fleet inventory, the latest list of ships available. They include two World War II U.S. Coast Guard buoy tenders and several fleet and logistics supports ships.
With the Cape Borda’s departure, the Maritime Administration beats its Sept. 10 deadline, as required under the legal settlement, to remove by the last “Ghost Fleet” ship from Suisun Bay. The lawsuit was filed in 2009 by the Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco Baykeeper and Arc Ecology. The regional water board intervened in the suit, which led to the 2010 agreement to remove the ships.
Launched in 1967, the Cape Borda was once part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, which provided a reserve of ships for national defense and emergencies. The Cape Borda hauled bulk cargo between the Gulf of Mexico for 18 years before the Maritime Administration acquired it and based it in Alameda. The ship was later activated to support the Desert Storm campaign in 1990.
Staff writer Thomas Peele contributed to this story.
