Most of the ghost ships end up at companies along the Brownsville Ship Channel which was built in 14 months from December 1934 to February 1936. It is 17 miles long, 400 feet wide, and 42 feet deep with a turning basin at the end.
Brownsville began seeking the channel back in 1928. It has been deepened over the years and always registers 40 feet at low tide.
No other US port has received more orders for ship recycling. Part of this being labor costs. The workers along the Rio Grande River area are very poor and desperate for jobs. This is also a non-union area. As such the companies can get by with very low wages and no benefits.
There was hope that more of the ghost fleet ships could be placed in the Ships to Reefs program, but still most end up as shipbreaking, where they are broken into smaller pieces.
Some of these ships also contain hazardous materials which is causing problems.
Next, the USS Gage. A Sad End. --Cooter
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