*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: I see, I see, it all comes back to me now, said the blind man to the deaf fellow, as he pee'd into the wind!
Today looked like a good day to burn the remaining gas in the tank, so I used that as an excuse to cruise up the James River to the Reserve Fleet to see the ship that broke loose and became stranded in shallow water during a nor'easter a few weeks ago. The stuck ship appears in the second photo below. She is the 700-foot, 37,000-ton, retired Navy oiler Monongahela (AO-178), built at Avondale in 1981. A team of four tugs tried and failed to get her unstuck. The Maritime Administration is now formulating a plan to bury anchors and use winches.
I wonder if there is any wisdom in leaving those ships with some ballast onboard. That way there is something to take off to lighten her when things like this happen.
The salvage guys are in for a job getting a ship which has been blown ashore, more than likely on a storm tide, off a sticky mudbank.
I just moved to the Hampton Roads area and have been dying to cruise up to the ghost fleet since last May. I cross the JRB every day so that fleet is ALWAYS on my mind.
__________________ He must become greater, I must become less.
Is the "S.S. Savannah" (the FIRST nuclear-powered freighter/cargo ship) still there?
Wish the Feds would get them damn things OUT of there - ALWAYS a holdup or some BS on moving them! Once, a deal with a demo firm in UK was struck for one (or more?) of them? THEN, the deal feel thru - blah, blah, blah!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG, slow process and there's GOT to be some environmental stuff happening to all that rust and corrosion going on!
I wonder if there is any wisdom in leaving those ships with some ballast onboard. That way there is something to take off to lighten her when things like this happen.
Sounds like a natural solution to me I wonder why they don't do it?
Is the "S.S. Savannah" (the FIRST nuclear-powered freighter/cargo ship) still there?
Wish the Feds would get them damn things OUT of there - ALWAYS a holdup or some BS on moving them! Once, a deal with a demo firm in UK was struck for one (or more?) of them? THEN, the deal feel thru - blah, blah, blah!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG, slow process and there's GOT to be some environmental stuff happening to all that rust and corrosion going on!
Regards,
The Savannah was pulled out of the reserve fleet and towed to Baltimore for removal of nuclear waste. My understanding is that the Maritime Administration intends to make her available for conversion to a museum ship; however, it is not clear that there is any party willing to take on such a project.
There is another nuclear ship in the reserve fleet, the Sturgis. She is a floating nuclear power station built on the hull of a Liberty Ship. The Sturgis and Savannah used to be moored side-by-side at the upstream end of the reserve fleet. I believe the Sturgis is still there, but I did not get close enough to positively identify her.
THANKS for the info and the pics! Didn't realize the "Savannah" was gone? Couldn't remember the Dept. that was in charge of the Reserve Fleet (Maritime Admin.), either.
Is that an OIL SLICK in the water in pic #3 - from the "fleet"??? Gotta' be nasty in there, I would think?
Never had my boat in that area - only gone from the ramp in Hampton Creek (beside Bluewater) and cruised down to "The Cove" by I-64/Elizabeth River bridge/ICW and back. Cool trip!
I just don't like the hassle of driving down there from Richmond, getting in all that traffic (towing) and trying to find a decent place to put in.
^^ That is not an oil slick in the third photo. The odd color is probably just due to the angle of the sun.
There are two boat ramps near the Reserve Fleet that can be accessed from Route 10 on the south side of the James River. One is at the mouth of Lawnes Creek. in Surry County. The other is at Tylers Beach in Isle of Wight County. I regret that I haven't tried launching from either ramp, so I can't tell you if either has any particular problems. The Lawnes Creek ramp was recently rebuilt. My chart shows a minimum depth of 2' at the entrance to the creek. Tylers Beach features a small harbor where several deadrise workboats are docked. My chart shows the entrance channel as having a depth of 3'. The depths are for mean low water. High tide would add between 2' and 3' of additional depth.
The best place for viewing the Reserve Fleet from shore is Fort Huger Park in Isle of Wight County. Fort Huger is an earthen fort that was built during the Civil War. The county has done a nice job of developing it into a historic park complete with fake cannons.
I stopped by Fort Huger Park this morning and took some photos of the Monongahela still stuck in the mud. One of the replica cannons was well positioned to maintain the Confederate blockade and keep the ship from reaching Richmond.
The 700-foot oil tanker Monongahela is floating again today for the first time in two months, a federal official said.
Crews were able to free the tanker from the James River muck this morning at about 11 a.m., said Susan Clark, a Maritime Administration spokeswoman.
The ship, a part of the James River Reserve Fleet, locally known as the Ghost Fleet, broke free from its moorings during the nor'easter on Nov. 12 and floated a half-mile downstream before planting itself in 50 feet of mud and sand on the western bank of the river.
Crews last week deployed the final pieces of heavy equipment required to re-float the 37,000-ton gray beast.
Salvage teams used special hydraulic-powered pullers, three lengths of steel chain fastened to the ship's deck and steel plate anchors lodged in heavy clay 150 feet below the river bottom to remove the ship.
To get an idea of how substantial the job was, each chain link weighs about 115 pounds and each chain stretched an average of 2,200 feet. Using the pullers, the crews tensioned each of the three chains to 300 tons. Finally, this morning, the ship started to inch out of its position and eventually floated.
Stuck Ship 
photob
ucket.com 
Once, a deal with a demo firm in UK was struck for one (or more?) of them? THEN, the deal feel thru - blah, blah, blah!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Didn't realize the "Savannah" was gone? Couldn't remember the Dept. that was in charge of the Reserve Fleet (Maritime Admin.), either. 
Gotta' be nasty in there, I would think? 
