‘Trust Us’ Redux

The USS Oriskany will be towed back to Beaumont, Texass for the foreseeable future. The money quotes (and man, am I looking like the Amazing Kreskin or what…)?

Safely mooring the 888-foot “Mighty O” at the Port of Pensacola would be costly, and preparations could not be completed by June 1, the beginning of the hurricane season, said Pat Dolan, deputy director of the Navy Sea System Command’s office of congressional and public affairs…..
Port of Pensacola Interim Director Leon Walker said the port will miss the monthly $90,000 docking fees the Navy has paid since the Oriskany’s arrival in December…..
Outfitting the port with a mooring that would be rated for a Category 3 hurricane, as recommended by the U.S. Coast Guard, would cost about $6 million and could not be completed this month, Dolan said.
Dolan estimates the round-trip trek to Beaumont, which is equipped with a hurricane mooring, will cost about $1.8 million.
The Navy has spent $12.3 million on the Oriskany reefing project so far, including environmental assessments, PCB remediation, towing and berthing, Dolan said. To dismantle and scrap the ship would cost an estimated $24 million.

3 Responses to “‘Trust Us’ Redux”

1. Mr. Bingley says:

   May 3, 2005 at 8:26 pm

   O fer criminy’s sake, I really hope tht she catches a torpedo out in the Gulf, and some LA-Class commander says “Oops! It slipped!”
   The money these fools waste.

2. tree hugging sister says:

   May 3, 2005 at 11:08 pm

   Your tax dollars at work. And the Adm. Fetterman they quote is the local mover and shaker who was a big part of bringing her here. I’m sure they’re sweating ever seeing her towed back this way again, once she’s out the pass.

3. Crusader says:

   May 4, 2005 at 9:13 am

   Sell her to India…