Military scrap metal in the USA

All nuclear powered ships in the US Navy sooner or later go to the Puget Sound Naval Dockyard in Bremerton, Washington, where they reach the end of their lives. Since the early 1990s, the shipyard has developed a reprocessing plan and has independently disposed of old submarines and cruisers that had accumulated over the years. The program made it possible to successfully dismantle more than 100 nuclear submarines and eight nuclear cruisers.

But now, the navy is considering expanding the number of commercial members that could recycle nuclear ships, which heightens competition as it provides access to vast amounts of scrap metal. "In order to ensure the best use of resources, the Navy is currently considering options, including the possibility of commercial disposal."

There are two factors driving the interest in opening a business for commercial tenders. First, the Navy is not happy with the high cost put forward by the naval shipyard for the job, which involves towing nearly 14,000 nautical miles from Virginia around South America to Puget Sound. Reportedly, the estimated cost of the move is much higher than the budget.

Another question concerns the power in Puget Sound. The shipyard is carrying out major repairs on the Northwest Pacific coast and is busy with active ships of the fleet. The facility also has the ability to lag nuclear vessels on its embankment pending disposal, including a dozen inactivated submarines.

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) is located in Virginia. Newport News is primarily concerned with the construction and overhaul of nuclear carriers and submarines, stripping and unloading of fuel, and is also the only shipyard in the United States that builds nuclear carriers for aircraft. Newport News also confirmed its continued interest in bidding for further recycling work.

International Shipbreaking LLC, All-Star Metals and ESCO Boats, also attended among the representatives of shipbreaking companies in Brownsville. All-Star Metals says they remain interested in the job. Aircraft carriers are currently the largest warships ever scrapped. In the canal in Brownsville, Texas, all ships are split apart for three different shipbreaking companies. “We are always in discussions as the maritime world is small and we are always looking for alternative ways to work together,” said an All-Star Metals spokesman.

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