Can't say I'm not surprised at the news but it pains me nonetheless to see it:

http://ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/blog/

I can't see them during this economy, saving her. You can almost see the cutting torches being lit as we write this. What a shame!

This makes me sick. This is a National Landmark. Come on, there has to be some rich person that could work with the cruise line.

Was it the United States that was stuck alongside the pier in Norfolk in the early 80's? Moldering away she looked rough back then but no one knew what to do with her. I heard the City of Norfolk was after the owners for something like 5 years of pier fees. There was some talk of turning her into some sort of homeless shelter, even the Navy taking it for floating family housing.
Foo

Yup, one & the same. Friends of mine lived in Norfolk at the time & acquired a lot of the silver, dinnerware, etc.. that were sold off at auction from the ship.

Can't imagine why the congress couldn't come up with a few million bucks to save this wonderful ship. Lord knows they can come up with the bucks for their own rises and billions of dollars worth of other not-needed things like Air Force tankers that we don't need or want. All we need is for some congressman to tack on an earmark for the ship when some emergency rescue bill is being passed and walla! There's the money.
This ship will never be saved by private donations. Pete

Like the plan they had before, turn it into low income housing or something, pay the tenants to clean it up park it next to the Intrepid and let the silt turn it into a building.
As for the tankers......the newest of the KC-10's is over 10 years old the oldest of the KC-135's are almost 50 (re-engined and new electronics or not). We have needed the tankers for 5 years and now we are going to have to get into that procurement game that tacks on 100' of percentage points onto the costs of projects.
Foo

Here we go again, the government can never do anything right---.

Except find ways to waste and spend our tax dollars---.

It is a shame, the LAST ocean liner in US history, built under tight security and It looks like she'll be cut up.
Isn't she , being a national landmark, under some kind of federal protection?

She should be under Federal protection if she is not. As for the tankers maybe it was some bombers or the like but the congress made the service buy them to keep jobs going for wherever they were made. The service didn't wnat or need them but had to take them anyway. Have to look this up. Pete

Originally Posted by Jerome Morris

It is a shame, the LAST ocean liner in US history, built under tight security and It looks like she'll be cut up.
Isn't she , being a national landmark, under some kind of federal protection?

Yes being a National Landmark offers some protection, but if the owners let her go to a point at which she can no longer be salvaged, the owners can claim she is too far gone to save and sell her for scrap.

-Chris

A couple of the arguments I've heard as to why she will not be saved in the end are; 1) At the time of her build, asbestos was not a concern so it is used throughout the vessel. To clean it up would be more than just a few million dollars, thus eliminating any profit in trying to fix her up. 2) She is old technology. She would be impractical to restore back to an operating vessel which, let's face it, is the only profitable adventure for such a ship. 3) The liability insurance to use her for housing would be outlandish. Once the insurance companies get involved, there would be no such thing as "low cost housing"!

Basically, it's a matter of money. In a capitalistic society, no amount of sentimentality can overcome lack of profitability.

Randy

I sure wouldn't want to be on the crew disassembling that hulk, nor be downwind of the operation. You know how much asbestos fiber is going to be floating around?!?! They have to do it in a 3rd world country simply to keep the lawyers away!

Andy

Originally Posted by AndyKunz

I sure wouldn't want to be on the crew disassembling that hulk, nor be downwind of the operation. You know how much asbestos fiber is going to be floating around?!?! They have to do it in a 3rd world country simply to keep the lawyers away!
Andy

Andy, you're right, and that's why trying to bring that ship back would be cost-prohibitive---, asbestos abatement---.

I was involved in a project doing removal of asbestos pipe insulation in a school about twelve years ago, and you wouldn't want to know rhe price tag on this relatively small job---.

Imagine what it would be on a liner---?

sad, still the fastest west-east crossing