Dumping Retired Navy Ships Has High Economic and Environmental Cost

The U.S. Navy’s policy of dumping retired Navy vessels into the ocean to create artificial reefs leads to the loss of hundreds of thousands of tons of recyclable metals, releases toxic metals into the ocean, and costs the U.S. thousands of jobs, according to a new report. As Pentagon officials decide this week how to dispose of the latest generation of retired ships, the nonprofit group Basel Action Network (BAN) reports that the decision to scuttle 73 ships in the past decade has cost the nation 20,000 potential jobs and 560,000 tons of recyclable metals — including steel, copper, and aluminum — worth a half-billion dollars. Dumping ships at sea is also more costly to taxpayers, according to the report, which said the government recently spent $253 per ton to create reefs out of four ships, while recycling them would have cost taxpayers only $67 per ton. The current policy also poses environmental risks; U.S. officials have conceded it is impossible to remove all toxic materials from ships scuttled at sea. “It’s time to stop dumping and start recycling,” said Colby Self, director of BAN’s Green Ship Recycling campaign.