Ship Recycling Startup To Bring Jobs To Vallejo
VALLEJO (KCBS) – A Bay Area startup company has been awarded the contract to decommission two military ships in conjunction with the reopening of the Mare Island shipyard in Vallejo.
Allied Defense Recycling received a $1.5 million contract to dismantle the SS Solon Turman and another $1.6 million for the SS President, both of which have been mothballed at Suisun Bay.
KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:
"This is a big deal because it's the first West Coast option for Mare Island," said Jay Anast with Allied Defense Recycling. "Formerly, all of our ships that have been anchored out there needing to be destroyed had been going to Brownsville, Texas."
On Thursday, the SS Solon Turman will be towed from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. The SS President is scheduled to arrive next month.
Anast said the dismantlings means more jobs for the area.
"These are union jobs. These are good jobs," he said. "We've had over 3,000 applications and our initial startup will be about 50 employees. We hope to ramp up to 120."
95 percent of the ships will be recycled.
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