So....when a ship goes off to be scrapped....

[RTNerd]

Is it true that the Munson's stern thruster was the Voorhees' bow thruster?

[Duluth Guest]

I think every company is different. USS Steel, I am told, saves just about everything when a vessel is sent for scrapping and warehouses it for re-utilization. As an example, when I was a porter on the Gott, the Steward told me that the dishwasher I was using was ancient and a salvaged item from a vessel the USS sent for scrap years ago. He said things like the ranges and some of the cabinetry in the galley was also re-used from an older ship. I believed him and sure enough, when scrolling through some photos of the Irvin L. Clymer (I think) a while back, there was that same model of domed dishwasher.

Here it is again on the Col. James M. Schoomaker...on the left.

[Guest]

Not sure about Algoma but CSL had a guy waiting on the dock for both the Birchglen and the Maplglen in Turkey when they arrived to put some of the stuff they wanted into c-cans to be shipped back the ships bells were at the top of the list according to the old man nobody could get anything else back because of the weight restrictions on the plane home

[Guest]

A friend of mine works for a scrapper.. The wheels,chadburns,portholes ,etc , all the good stuff is sold off on auction or wherever.....they basically peel the thing apart until there is nothing but steel left, then cut it up. As for the chattels aboard,any usable bedding, kitchen stuff, ER tools etc etc etc are free to grab within reason. Saves on disposal costs. Watched a few docs on the ship breaking industry, one point struck me in particular.India does not have enough domestic iron ore supply to satisfy its demand. The cheapest way to supply the blast furnaces is to purchase excess tonnage from around the world in the form of s hips.

[Guest]

Algoma and CSL don't usually remove any relics like builder plates, the bell, the horns, the wheel, the chadburn, etc. Not only that, they go to the scrapyard mostly intact with furniture and everything.

Any cannibalization is minor and seems to mostly happen if there's a direct need for a particular item now or in the immediate future, rather than storing away still useful items in a warehouse in order to save money.

[Binrat]

On a side note, what also happens to the Ships Bell's?

[Pete in Holland MI]

...is the crew or company allowed any souvineers? Does the ship have to remain operational? I see all these ships leave and their horns, the voice of the ship, remain intact.

On that note, where did the St Mary's Challengers horns end up? I called the yard and they had been spoken for.

Pete