Residents who live along the shores of San Francisco Bay may soon see a ghostly sight as two WW-II era ships slowly slip past as they are towed to a shipyard in San Francisco. Two WW-II Victory Ships are preparing to move from the Suisun Bay National Defense Reserve Fleet to the San Francisco BAE shipyard to be prepared for scrapping.

It appears that the old MARAD mothball fleet otherwise known as the Suisun Bay Ghost Fleet near Benicia California may soon be drastically shrinking, with many old warships and auxiliary vessels heading to scrappers in Texas.   Many of the ships in the mothball fleet have significant historical value, including several Victory ships and the [...]

MARAD has issued a press release containing the employment numbers from this years maritime academy graduating classes which indicate a strong demand for licensed officers in the U.S. Merchant Marine. The stats for the class of 2008 can be viewed here.  Good news for those looking for jobs.

The Society of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (SNAME) bring us this bit of news: Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton and John M. Murray, president and chief executive officer of Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC, recently signed an agreement for cadets from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and state maritime academies to take their training voyages on [...]

SNAME Article High prices for scrap steel are making it more and more favorable for MARAD to dispose of its aging fleet.  MARAD has recently sold the GULF MERCHANT, KALAMAZOO, NITRO, TRUCKEE, and THE RIGEL to scrap companies.  This also comes as MARAD announces the commencement of environmental impact studies at its reserve fleet locations.