Ships to Reefs

California Ships to Reefs

In the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. government recycled hundreds of ships both internationally and in America. However in the 1980s the Navy began stockpiling ships during the Reagan era, which left few ships to be recycled for scrap. In 1991 an influx of ships were added to this inactive fleet as a result of the post-Cold War military downsizing.

By the 1990s the ship recycling industry had shifted from the United States, Spain, Portugal, and Italy to India, Pakistan, China, the Philippines, and Bangladesh where there are less environmental restrictions and cheaper labor. As a result, from 1970 -1982 there were 980 ships recycled but between 1991 -1997 only 32 Navy ships were recycled domestically. Also, the discovery of harmful Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in ships and subsequent environmental acts made it illegal to sell ships overseas to be recycled.

To combat this problem, the Navy has increasingly looked to reefing ships as a cost-effective option. With revenue taken into account, it's estimated that the Navy could offset the cost of reefing a ship within 12 years, and even earn a potential profit from sinking ships as artificial reefs. As a result, there has been a rapid increase in reefing in the past 25 years (most in recent years). The Atlantic and Gulf Coast reef authorities report over 846 vessels have been used for artificial reefs, with a demand for hundreds more.

The San Diego Oceans Foundation has developed a committee to address the feasibility of creating additional artificial reefs along the California coast. California Ships 2 Reefs (CS2R) is a network of SinkGroups that works closely with regulatory agencies, the federal government and nonprofit organizations to ensure that the acquisition, cleaning and sinking process of all ships is completed in a manner that is environmentally safe and satisfactory to all parties involved.

Ships to Reefs Website