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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
Program Assessment

Program

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Maritime Administration Ship Disposal Program

This program facilitates disposal of obsolete merchant-type ships owned by the Federal government that are 1500 or more gross tons in size. These obsolete vessels are disposed through domestic dismantling/recycling, sinking as artificial reefs and deep-sinking in conjunction with the U.S. Navy's SINKEX Program.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Effective

This is the highest rating a program can achieve. Programs rated Effective set ambitious goals, achieve results, are well-managed and improve efficiency.
  • There are approximately 108 obsolete government-owned merchant-type ships currently scheduled for disposal and not yet under contract. An average of thirteen vessels have been added to the program's nonretention inventory since 2001. An ongoing program is needed to dispose of these vessels and to protect the environment from the hazardous materials used in their construction and operation.
  • Dismantling/recycling contracting is the most commonly available disposal method. Although regulatory constraints and deficit market capacity limit the number of ships that can be contracted for dismantling in a given fiscal year, all 40 ships in the program designated as high priority based on hull deterioration and potential for environmental contamination have been removed from the fleet.
  • The program has successfully reduced average cost in dismantling contracts to less than $100 per ton through efforts to qualify additional domestic contractors to participate in compliance with environmental regulations and to pursue dismantling contracts with a qualified United Kingdom contractor.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Seeking innovative ways to sustain or increase the rate of ship removal and thereby reduce overall fleet size in compliance with both Congressional and public preference.

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