Unfortunately I was not in the Office at the time this ship came through the draw bridges but several witnesses informed me they had about a half an inch on either side to get it through. Other witnesses told me once they saw how huge the ship was, they turned their vehicle around and took another route home.
One thing I do know, the Coast Guard used every single inch of life out of this ship. The Government doesn't give the Coast Guard a whole lot of money for new things and they are usually the recipient of what the Navy doesn't want any more. That being said, I'm sure this ship has seen many ports in its time, including its last, Salisbury, Maryland.
15 comments:
It's a 180' seagoing buoy tender. Look for a name across the stern (in welding marks), or hull numbers near the bow (same deal, welded edges) and I can tell you more about it.
QM2 sends
QM2 sends
October 7, 2011 5:41 PM
What is a QM2? Quartermaster second grade? You seem to know your boats. (ships)
lets hope the city doesn't give them a hard time for trying to make a few dollars. the last time ships were brought here to scrap the city ran them out of town. hope this group of leaders doesn't make the same mistake. thanks sjd
Identified as USCGC Mallow(WLB-396).
http://usmilnet.com/smf/index.php?topic=11670.270
Quite a career too! Lots of time in and around the pacific.
Very sad to see such history meet the ship breaker. And yup, I piety this company. Full of red death and asbestos.
http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Mallow1944.asp
QM2
Great, ship breaking in the river. That won't pollute much.
Quartermaster second class E-5
FYI: All ships that are sold through GSA must be de-asbestos and can not contain any PCB or any other dangerous substance that may harmful to the water they lay in. In fact this particular cutter was still in service when all asbestos was removed and compartments sand-blaster for PCB containments. This ship is clean and free of any dangerous substance. The ships you might be referring to are USN vessels laying in Virgina.
Quartermaster second class E-5
October 8, 2011 8:29 AM
Thank you. That's what I thought.
I had the pleasure of sailing aboard Mallow in the mid 90's when I was stationed in Guam. Many of my best memories are of my time and places sailed aboard her. A very sad day to see her scrapped.
Decommissioned Mallow and sailed her from Honolulu to Baltimore back in June 1997. I was her last QM1 and she deserves a better ending than this.
TML - Suffok, VA.
Was an SS3 aboard the Mallow (1991-1993) and our crew sailed her proud from Sand Island in Hawaii to places like Midway, Tarawa, Marshall Islands, Ponape, all the Hawaiian Islands, and many other great places. She was a working Coast Guard vessel and that she, along with her crew, did often. We also did rescue missions such as being deployed on Christmas day of 1992 to rescue a Vietnamese fishing vessel dead in the water between Hawaii and San Francisco. We were also the first vessel allowed in the Bikini Atoll after the detonation of several hydrogen and nuclear weapons to test the destruction and devastation it would have on 50 US naval vessels including the USS Sarasota. Rode out Hurricane Iniki on her 1992, she leaked a little but it was all good. Goodbye BPOD (if you sailed on her, you know what that means).
It doesn't matter which 180' buoy tender we sailed on, all of us old sailors who sailed on a buoy tender are sad to see any one of them become scrap. The spirit of her crews live on.
Sailed on the BPOD in 89-90 as a SN. Good times about that cutter and will miss her. Sad to see her cut up.
I was an EN2 on the Mallow.Lots of memories on that ship 1971-1972 in Guam. We went through 2 typhoons,1 coming back from Japan underway,the other sitting at the dock in Guam. Logged lots of miles cruising the Pacific doing 10 knots,Kwajelein,Roi Namur, Okinawa.Truk, Taiwan,even crossed the equator,plus many other islands. Sad to see her get scrapped.
I served aboard the Mallow in 1972 and 1973. I feel a part of me died when I heard about the Mallow/Princess Grace being scrapped. I wonder how many people who served on the Mallow or any other ship feels that same loss. These ships were our homes, our way of life, and our protecters. We survived typhoons and countless miles of ocean.
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