Dirty, deadly shipbreaking in the news once again

Deadly, dirty shipbreaking in the news again. A story in Bloomberg business outlining the practice of reflagging for convenience to allow toxic ships to be exported to places like Alang, India; Chittagong, Bangladesh; and Gadani, Pakistan.

There are federal laws in place that should have stopped the export of STORIS to Mexico for scrapping. How that was allowed to happen, we're still working to find out. My recent FOIA to the State Department has potential to reveal how the ship was exported but, of course, the government doesn't want to cooperate and the State Department doesn't feel that the information is worth making public for free. Instead, it wants to charge us for the truth, just like GSA, MARAD and EPA. Who knows what the Coast Guard is doing? Appeals were sent to the FOIA officials from CG months ago and not a peep in response.

We need some sunshine disinfectant with this rotten mess.

The proposed STORIS Act discussed earlier would have also prevented the practice of reflagging for convenience for U.S.-flagged vessels. It was a good piece of legislation, not only for its content, but also to bring STORIS' fate to the foreground again. I am hoping that some other legislators will take up the mantle and move forward with it. If that's the case, we need to be ready to write letters in support.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-12/european-ships-sneak-to-india-s-demolition-yard

Remembering STORIS, Queen of the Fleet, eight years after decommissioning

USCGC STORIS, seen on her decommissioning day.

Coast Guard Capt. James McCauley, the last commanding officer of STORIS, left, andCapt. Mark Carmel, commanding officer of Integrated Support Command Kodiak, right,display the sign that commemorates the STORIS' decades of service in Kodiak at the decommissioning ceremony held Feb 8, 2007.  (Official U.S. Coast Guard Photo)

Some say that raindrops are tears falling from Heaven. When STORIS was decommissioned eight years ago today, there were a lot of tears being shed inside and obviously outside when this image was captured.

The end of a legendary career and an amazing chapter of U.S. Coast Guard history. There could have been a happy ending with a second volume in retirement, but politics and the ineptitude of the American bureaucracy shattered those hopes.

There was one and only will ever be one STORIS.
 
USCGC STORIS Decommissioning Speech Transcript

Decommissioning CGC STORIS (WMEC 38)

RADM Brooks

8 FEB 2007

Distinguished guests, Officers and Crew CGC STORIS, Officers and Crew CGC ACUSHNET Family and Friends of the Coast Guard,

Alternate Salutation

Representative Ledoux, Mayor Selby Mayor Floyd, Officers and Crew CGC STORIS, Officers and Crew CGC ACUSHNET Family and Friends of the Coast Guard

Good Morning,

On behalf of Vice Admiral Wurster and the men and women of the Pacific Area, including all the members of the Coast Guard Alaska family; whether PacArea, MLC Pacific, or D17, regular and reserve, CG auxiliary, families and friends, Welcome. Today, we celebrate the distinguished service of Coast Guard Cutter STORIS and the crews who served aboard her.

To put today’s tremendous accomplishments into perspective, let me just offer a few statistics of this great ship’s faithful, and unbroken service:

Lives Saved: 250

Vessels Saved: 25

People in Remote Areas Assisted: 100,000

Vessels Boarded: 7,500

Miles traveled: 1.5 million

And the most impressive statistic...

Years of Service: over 64 years, 5 months of commissioned service.

Personally, that last figure is most impressive. I consider myself one of the "old" people in the Coast Guard. But STORIS has served more "commissioned days" in the United States Coast Guard than me and my Chief of Staff – combined. In a world where the average naval vessel is considered "old" at 10-15 years service, STORIS has lived 5 or 6 lifetimes.

As many of us prepared for today’s ceremony, we were flooded with information about the legacy and the legend that is Coast Guard Cutter STORIS. In fact, those doing the most detailed research discovered that the Coast Guard Cutter STORIS historic materials and memorabilia, filed in the Historian’s office at Coast Guard Headquarters, is not contained in a few binders or boxes but, in volumes of document, papers and artifacts. It’s obvious that my brief remarks today will not even scratch the surface of the contributions this "Queen of the Fleet" and her crews have made over their 64 year career. With that humble acknowledgement, I’ll attempt to summarize some important events aboard STORIS. In addition, I’ll provide a couple "sea stories" relayed from some of the more than 3,000 crew members who served aboard her. STORIS, if you don’t know, is a Scandinavian name taken from the Eskimo word meaning "great ice" or "blue ice". Those who have studied ice or served aboard icebreakers know that clear blue ice is made when the purist of water is frozen. Blue ice contains no trapped "impurities" like air, or snow and therefore can be among the toughest ice to break. Therefore, given her namesake, someone might have predicted the destiny of this tough noble legend and STORIS’ long legacy, including the eventual designation as oldest commissioned cutter, or "Queen of the Fleet".

YEAR 1941:

The keel for this one-of-a-kind vessel, an ice patrol tender, was laid in July 1941. The only ship in her class, she resembled the 180-foot sea-going buoy tender class, but was designed to carry cargo as well. Her hull, made of 7/8-inch steel, was especially shaped and design to resist the lateral forces caused when ice is under pressure. Her hull designed reduced the possibilities of getting "beset" in the ice and made her a tough, highly effective ice breaker. Those who shaped her bulkheads and welded her deck were dedicated and hard working Americans living in an uncertain age. History would later recognize them as "the greatest generation".

The average salary in 1941 was $2, 059 dollars per year. The average car cost $925 dollars and gasoline was 0.19 cents per gallon. Milk was 0.34 cents per gallon and bread (pause) 0.08 cents per loaf. This generation ate dinner together and then gathered in their living rooms to listen to Jack Benny, the most popular show on radio. Although TV was invented, most families didn’t own one. At the cinemas "Citizen Kane", "The Maltese Falcon" and "Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde" were playing. A new up-and-coming movie producer named Walt Disney released "Dumbo". Then came December 7th, 1941, the "day that lives in infamy". The attacks on Pearl Harbor assuredly sharpened the focus of those in the shipyard. Every weld, bolt and detail was assembled with renewed American pride and purpose, undoubtedly contributing to longevity of this great ship. Like many persons living in this era, STORIS’s first-days of military service were in this war-torn world. Plank-owners wore heavy wool uniforms. Families were asked by the government to "make do and mend", as food, clothing material and other items were rationed for the war effort – for "the boys over there". First homeported in Boston, one of STORIS’s earliest missions sent her to Greenland, operating in the very waters from which her name was derived. She conducted important Greenland Patrols, commanding a fleet of 125-foot patrol boats, guarding this strategically important portion of the Arctic Circle against the establishment of German weather stations. Greenland held the world’s only known marketable deposit of cryolite, an important ingredient in the production of aluminum, critical in the World War II American aircraft and shipping industry. STORIS also supported the Army in establishing airdrone facilities for use in ferrying aircraft to the British Islands. STORIS served as a supply ship, kept convoy routes open and conducted a multitude of other duties including search and rescue as well as escort and patrol duties. Critical weather and ice reports from STORIS patrols were relayed to Greenland and U.S. military bases and that, undoubtedly, fed directly into the wartime plans and strategies. STORIS was homeported and served missions on the east coast and Great Lakes until 1948 when she was reassigned to Juneau, Alaska, beginning her 59 year service in Alaska.

1950s

The lean years of the 1940’s gave way to the "free market" fifties as the World War II scientific and mass production advances began to change the way people lived. By early 1950, 8 in 100 homes had televisions, and people would line-up chairs in their living room and invite neighbors to watch TV. 1950’s, also, became the decade of the teenagers, influenced by Elvis Presley and James Dean. "Greasers" followed the strict black leather and denim jean dress code, while the "Preppy" men donned sport coats and collared shirts and women wore circular skirts with large appliques, dubbed "poodle skirts".

Although those at home in this "rock-around-the-clock" generation had many luxuries, the amenities for the crew aboard Coast Guard Cutter STORIS remained relatively unchanged. These clashes in generations, undoubtedly, led to spirited exchanges between crew members of the hardened World War II era and the newly enlisted James Dean and "Greaser" look alikes. Unfazed by these differences, Coast Guard Cutter STORIS and her crew continued her impressive and historic service.

In 1955, STORIS was assigned and participated in the defense early warning system supply operation and hydrographic survey in the Arctic Ocean.

Commander Wood, the Commanding Officer, stated "...it was imperative [that] an ice-protected, relatively shallow-draft vessel was assigned to precede the supply ships into the central arctic waters, which had never been charted or sounded." This mission served to ensure that the route to be traveled by the supply ships was practical and safe. The first charts, initially used by STORIS, were nothing more than outlines of terrain, made from aerial photos. The STORIS’s depth soundings from these missions were quickly reported back and added to the charts for the supply ships the following year. In addition, during the second year, buoys set by the STORIS significantly improved navigational safety for the supply ships.

Commander Wood wanted to make an effort to transit the Northwest Passage in 1955, but the demands of her primary missions precluded it. In 1957, the crew of STORIS got its chance. They departed Seattle with the Coast Guard cutters BRAMBLE and SPAR to establish a Northwest Passage, by all accounts virgin territory. Commander Wood’s and other crewmember accounts of this transit are as riveting as any pioneer’s story, and impossible to recount every detail. One particular event worth mentioning was the challenges the three ships overcame in the Amundsen Strait.

The three captains of the cutters had carefully planned and calculated their route off-shore, to ensure minimum exposure to the potential large heavy ice floes that trapped vessels between open water and the unforgiving rocky shoreline. A sudden illness of one of BRAMBLE's sailors mandated the ships venture closer inland to facilitate the helicopter transport. After the airlift was completed, the ships made best speed away to open water. However, two miles off shore, the vessels became beset – trapped by a heavily wind-rowed ice flow. Like an object on a conveyor belt, the ships drifted at the mercy of the ice floe propelled by the wind. Initially, there was little concern with greater than 2 miles to shore and more than 90 feet of water under the keel. For three days the crews tried relentlessly to free themselves. They used the ship’s boom to sling large cement weights from side to side, and even attempted blasting the ice with TNT. Nothing worked. As the days wore on, Coast Guard Cutter STORIS, which normally draws 15 feet 6 inches, was being slowly squeezed out of the water. And, Commander Wood stated that, "...ice was completely under our ship, and there was very little water, if any under the keel". Another crew member, Radioman Chief Otis Shipp recalled "...all three vessels were popped to the top of the ice, lying on their sides looking like children’s discarded toys. To make matters worse, the ice had wedged Coast Guard Cutter SPAR against the stern of STORIS…and buckled the plates. We were hoping and praying that we would not be pushed up against the barren shoreline." At about 700 yards from shore, the wind shifted, and STORIS eventually dropped back into the water. They quickly took advantage of the small open leads in the ice zigzagging their way to open water and continuing their historic voyage.

STORIS completed her transit of the Northwest Passage and returned home via the Panama Canal becoming the first United States vessel to circumnavigate the continent. Commander Wood concluded a letter to a friend saying, "You see, we’re very proud of the fact that in three short summers we were able to gather - for our [military] forces - more hydrographic information about these waters than had been amassed in the last four hundred years. It’s a good feeling to have had a part of something like that."

1957 ended with the ship changing its homeport for the final time, from Juneau to Kodiak. And, by 1959, STORIS completed her final Defense Early Warning System supply mission. Her primary missions shifted to fisheries law enforcement in the Bering Sea.

1960s:

The 1950s leather jackets and poodle skirts gave way to the 1960s mini-skirts with more conservative individuals emulating the fashions of President and Mrs. Kennedy. The Twist and the Locomotion were the dance craze fueled by American Bandstand. Although 90% of all homes owned television sets, in the earlier years, they were still not very practical aboard ships. Limited broadcast range-coupled with delicate picture tubes made them difficult keep secure and operational aboard a rolling ship that shudders during ice operations.

The 1960s

Nonetheless, the crew kept the mission focused visiting many remote islands and tribal communities providing much needed medical assistance and supplies. The1960’s also brought renewed emphasis on Coast Guard’s Living Marine Resources. Large fleets of Japanese and Soviet vessels moved into harvest the abundant stocks of crab and bottom fish in Alaskan waters. Boarding teams, frequently, visited these vessels to verify their documents, logs, and catches. Although seemingly inconsequential, these vessel boardings and deceptive lighting and fishery surveillance were important to understanding the fishing fleet. Throughout these cat and mouse game, Captain Ratti reported that often, they would track and plot the position of these vessels, and discover them hovering just outside U.S. waters. However, as the 60’s wore on, the foreign fishing fleet became bolder. In 1967, the STORIS crew boarded and seized a Soviet fishing vessel within a mile of the U.S. coast, resulting in a $5,000 dollar fine, the first ever such seizure of a soviet vessel. In 1972, STORIS seized two Soviet vessels, the LAMUT and KOLYVAN. While escorting them to port, the LAMUT kept attempting to escape. Each time, STORIS was there to force them back on course. The chase finally ended when LAMUT was cornered in an ice pack. Thereafter, STORIS was known as the "Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coasts".

1970s:

The 1970’s, an era of Saturday Night Fever disco trends that brought bell-bottom pants, platform shoes and wide lapels on colorful suits into style, also became the backdrop of one of Cutter STORIS' most significant renovations. STORIS was transformed from an auxiliary icebreaker to a medium endurance cutter without diminishing her versatility. The "Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast" continued to perform in every mission area. In 1975, STORIS provided ice-breaking assistance to tugs and barges carrying vital supplies and material to Prudhoe Bay for construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Since the 1977 formal establishment of the fisheries management zone, STORIS’s primary mission has been the surveillance and boarding of foreign fishing vessels to ensure compliance with U.S. regulations.

1980s & 1990s:

In the 80’s disco gave way to the country music boom fueled by the sometimes western fashion styles of President and Nancy Reagan. STORIS legendary service and diversity in missions was once again demonstrated during the 1986 EXXON VALDEZ oil spill. As the Command and Control vessel for the operation, STORIS and her crew worked tirelessly to protect the pristine Alaskan wilderness from further devastation. She was awarded the Operations Service medal for this heroic and important mission.

With the decommissioning of Coast Guard Cutter FIR, the "Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast" received a new designation, "Queen of the Fleet." Since her coronation, on October 1st 1991, STORIS has continued her impressive, diverse service. Anyone who has ever seen the footage of STORIS responding to the grounded F/V ALASKA MONARCH on St. Paul Island, 14 March 1990, will never forget it. In a case typical for Alaska, STORIS struggled to pass a line to the disabled fishing vessel in seas of mountainous ice. From rescuing fisherman in peril, to protecting critical living marine resources, to her legacy mission of ice breaking, STORIS’s service to this nation has been unparalleled. "Wrap-up".

So, today, we bid farewell to a beloved cutter that has served her nation with legendary distinction. This "Queen" has literally carved a path, blazed the trail and marked the waterways that ensured the safe transit of every ship that followed. It’s obvious; this tough old ship has the tenacity and determination - - the very heart and soul - - of those who built her, those members of the greatest generation. Throughout the years, the crew members at her helm have demonstrated extraordinary courage and fortitude saving lives, protecting living marine resources and protecting shipping from the hazards of the icy Arctic. For you see, while STORIS is this hearty ship, the real STORIS is every Coast Guard crewmember, every crew, that ever sweated—and toiled—and laughed— and dreamed—aboard her. These are the lives. These are the Coast Guard heroes, who breathed life—and passion—and purpose—into STORIS.

ACUSHNET

Today a Queen embraces eternity, confident in her legacy through the long echoes of history. Today the scepter passes. Today a new Queen is crowned. The Coast Guard Cutter ACUSHNET has served in the Navy and Coast Guard since 1944. Originally commissioned as the Diver Class Fleet Rescue and Salvage vessel, USS SHACKLE (ARS 9) on February 5th, 1944, ACUSHNET conducted salvage operations in Pearl Harbor, Midway Island, Eniwetok, Guam, Saipan, and Japan. She was actively engaged in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. ACUSHNET was commissioned as an Auxiliary Tug (WAT) in the Coast Guard on August 23rd, 1946. She joined two other U.S. Navy Diver Class vessels, the ESCAPE and the YOCONA. ACUSHNET has served the Coast Guard proudly ever since, in homeports like Portland, Maine; San Diego, California; Gulfport, Mississippi; Eureka, California; and Ketchikan, Alaska. To the crew of ACUSHNET, I charge you to continue to live the legacy of your fine cutter. Keep her safe as you travel the same harsh waters as the "former Queen." Be ever vigilant, and Always Ready; these waters demand it.

Conclusion:

64 years and 5 months of dedicated, continuous service cannot be recounted in a single day, or contained within a single speech. For those with the privilege of personally knowing this "former Queen of the Fleet", serving on her decks and working in her engine spaces, we know that she will always carry special significance and memories for you. "Today we take time to honor YOUR dedicated service to our nation."

The Commandant, ADM Allen has sent a "Bravo Zulu USCGC STORIS" ALCOAST. After reviewing the long and illustrious history of STORIS he says "To all current and past members of the STORIS crews I offer a resounding well done! Your outstanding enthusiasm and professionalism displayed during six decades of service has left a great impression on the Alaskan, United States, and International Communities. Your unique contributions to this great nation will live on in her hull and the hearts and minds of us all.

Senator Ted Stevens has entered the following statement into the Congressional Record—

Mr. President, on the 8th day of February, 2007 this nation will retire another distinguished member of our greatest generation, the United States Coast Guard Cutter STORIS.

When the Coast Guard Cutter STORIS is decommissioned in Kodiak, Alaska she will have served this nation with distinction for more than 64 years. After reviewing the history of the STORIS, (the senator goes on to say)— From supplying medical treatment to native villages along our Northwest coast to rescuing mariners from the treacherous waters of the North Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska, the STORIS has been an integral part of Alaskan history. The Coast Guard Cutter STORIS has helped ensure the safety of the Alaska people, conducted law enforcement operations in support of Alaska’s fishing industry, and protected Alaska’s pristine environment.

Mr. President, the venerable STORIS holds the distinction of being the oldest commissioned cutter in the Coast Guard fleet and bears the appropriate title of "Queen of the Fleet." I ask all members of the U. S. Senate join me in recognizing the Coast Guard Cutter STORIS for nearly seven decades of proud service to our nation.

Will the former crew members of Coast Guard Cutter STORIS please stand to be recognized... (pause and wait for applause). As you stand I see every Navy and Coast Guard person who ever served on STORIS, in their generations stretching back. Your dedicated service to this great lady is the reason we are here, today. You protected her, maintained her, and watched over her, 24 by 7, through the decades.

I do not know if there will ever be another STORIS. If there is, if I could stand before those sailors of the future STORIS—on the day that new ship is commissioned—in a Coast Guard fleet that is yet to be. I would tell them, thinking of all of you "You stand on the shoulders of Titans. You join a legacy of greatness. And, one day, like them, your deeds will be legend."

On behalf of the entire Coast Guard, of Alaska, and our nation, thank you. You have embodied the Coast Guard core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty and have made it possible for this legendary Queen to remain, Semper Paratus, Always Ready. Bravo Zulu.

State Dept denies fee waiver, expedited search requests

Recently received a response dated Jan 23 from the State Department. As with the other FOIA requests submitted on behalf of STORIS and her supporters, State Department has denied my request for a fee waiver as well as my request for an expedited search for records. Apparently my explanation that as many as four, possibly five, federal agencies likely broke at least two federal laws in the excessing, sale and disposal of STORIS wasn't important enough for the State Department officials. We push on.

Final MARAD FOIA appeal filed; New State Dept FOIA submitted

 

As I indicated the other day, the final appeal for the U.S. Maritime Administration's responses to my FOIA request was due on Friday, Jan. 9. That appeal was completed and filed electronically. According to the acknowledgement letter I received on Monday, MARAD has until Feb. 9 to respond. The response letter MARAD officials sent was sloppy as it was a generic form letter. They couldn't even be bothered to fill it in correctly, with the date that my FOIA was submitted listed as "DAY MONTH, 2013.) The correct date was Nov. 4, 2013. My appeal letter is here: http://goo.gl/R3tCCY 

As a result of what was discovered in the MARAD materials, we know now that there was some involvement of the U.S. State Department with STORIS' export. As a result, I have just filed a new Freedom of Information Act request with the State Department requesting records related to STORIS. We want to know why and what level of involvement the State Department had, what kind of permits or correspondence they created, etc. Again, STORIS was illegally exported to Mexico, so if the State Department was involved, this adds another layer of bureaucracy to the situation. The FOIA letter is here: http://goo.gl/6Yncj7

Second GSA FOIA released: Gov't arrogance, ignorance and incompetence at its worst

I wanted to get this posted. It’s been moving slowly as I’ve been under the weather lately. This came in on 12/31/2014. Great way to end the year.

We need the followers of the page to seriously read the material that is being posted here. These GSA materials are going to be particularly important as they are the last of the four agencies I FOIA’d for information to respond. (EPA and Coast Guard made token releases and there are outstanding appeals for those releases.) The final appeal to MARAD went out Friday and was accepted Monday. More on that, later.

It’s been 14 months and 10 days since I submitted the FOIA to GSA and this is all we have so far. This is the FOIA that they wanted to charge me over $10,000 to fulfill. So far we only have a few hundred pages. For that price, there should be over 5,000 pages of documents. Of course, that would have required someone to be paid over $9,000 to review them for release. What rot. They are releasing this information only because investigative reporter Danielle Ivory of the New York Times requested the same information. I am only being courtesy copied on the release.

Nevertheless, there are answers as to how STORIS was allowed to be destroyed in these pages. There is also ample proof of the arrogance, ignorance, incompetence and deceit within GSA (and within the federal government as a whole).

Please read and share.

With that said, this is the second GSA release related to STORIS.

The cover letter is here: http://goo.gl/veB2uh

Document 1, addressing bullet 6 of the FOIA request is here: http://goo.gl/D6xh8h

Document 2, addressing bullet 2 of the FOIA request is here: http://goo.gl/eBKuGB

The 10-page document as Document 1 is nothing but a highlighted printout from the GSA Web site – already public – and they were most likely going to charge me a bundle for it.

The second document is 273-pages long and has proven to be a disturbing read.

First of all, GSA claimed in its response with the first release that it had no information related to the Certificate of Financial Responsibility, yet there are several email exchanges within this packet that discuss Mark Jurisich of U.S. Metals Recovery working to get the necessary insurance for the COFR. Someone else asks what COFR stands for. How can GSA sell ships if they don’t know what the legal requirements are and the necessary documentation?

Some additional highlights:

P 22 – The correspondence identifies STORIS as being destined for scrapping on June 28, the day the ship was awarded. They KNEW she was going to be cut up. It also brings up the MOA with AK SHPO and USCG, explaining that the responsibility is in preserving the ship’s history, which is the Coast Guard’s problem, not GSA, so they can get rid of the ship herself.

This is discussed in a message from Heather Bischoff, the GSA property manager who coordinated the sale:

“Another important piece of information for you to be aware of is the high bidder will be using the vessel as scrap metal. The MOA with the State Historic Preservation Office and Coast Guard (attached) put the onus on the Coast Guard to preserve the history rather than putting restrictive covenants on the vessel itself.

HB”

Just because they could dump the ship, doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.

Just like there was no restriction listed in the GSA auction listing for the ship that recycling would be restricted to U.S. facilities, there is also nothing mentioned in the document about the federal laws that we have discussed that should have prevented this debacle from happening.

40 USC 548 should have mandated that STORIS’ disposal be handled through the U.S. Maritime Administration, NOT GSA, because her tonnage exceeded 1,500 tons displacement.

Section 3502 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act dictates that all retired U.S. Government vessels must be recycled in U.S. ship recycling facilities. No foreign scrapping of these vessels is permitted. Yet STORIS was cut up on the beach in Ensenada, Mexico. Foreign scrapping was the only way that the buyer could have made any kind of profit in scrapping STORIS, as her size made domestic scrapping cost-prohibitive. It shouldn’t have been possible for her to be exported to Ensenada, but the government allowed it to happen.

P 27 – There is discussion about the Museum donation process and reserve price issues. Since the ship was considered surplus, GSA apparently set a reserve price to encourage bids but officials were also apparently ready to accept any price. In fact, GSA officials started exchanging emails just after the auction was completed indicating that they were going to accept the bid, even though it did not meet reserve.

GSA refused to donate the ship, but at the same time, if we knew that they were going to allow her sale for such a low amount, we could have put together the necessary funding to purchase the ship ourselves.

It would have been in the best interests of the ship.

The MOA used by GSA to dispose of STORIS without consideration for her history was created through Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. However, I also believe that the language of Section 110 of that same legislation should have created a strong incentive for the government to put the ship’s preservation as a top priority, especially since she had recently been officially listed as nationally significant on the National Register of Historic Places. This is discussed in the document related to the Nauticus Conference Sept. 25. The document is here: http://goo.gl/PKmKa2.

There is also snarky discussion about Jim Loback and STORIS Museum.

Reading through these materials, GSA claims (correctly) that no other federal or state agency claimed the ship when they had the opportunity. They also claim that no one asked for the ship as a donation. We know that to be patently false, considering Jim Loback had been talking with GSA and Coast Guard officials about saving STORIS for weeks with GSA and YEARS with the Coast Guard. GSA describes their refusal to deal with the STORIS Museum for donation purposes because the organization didn’t qualify under their rules as a “real museum.” That required having full-time professional staff and a building for a certain amount of time.

GSA officials blame Jim Loback, as “that guy” who didn’t do what he said he was going to do. Jim spoke with GSA and other government officials on more than one occasion explaining the situation: GSA officials were obviously ignorant or refused to accept the reality that STORIS was the building for the proposed museum. How can you establish a museum vessel if you don’t have the ship? And without a clear shot at obtaining title to the vessel, fundraising was extremely difficult.

At one point, before GSA was apparently aware of the MOA between AK SHPO and USCG, Jim was told that the ship could be transferred at low cost with a waiver. I believe it was Heather Bischoff who told Jim that they had created such waivers in the past and STORIS Museum would be able to be part of the process in writing protective covenants for the ship. Jim was told there was a high certainty, above 99 percent, that we would get the ship. Once GSA found the MOA, all that was immediately dropped and GSA worked to get rid of the ship ASAP, again with no concern for her physical integrity and national level of historic designation. Whether that was documented is unknown, but it hasn’t shown up yet in any paperwork. If such paperwork or correspondence exists, I doubt GSA will let it see the light of day. But I know what Jim was told.

I have also been told by Jim Loback and another credible source that GSA offered the ship directly to the State of Alaska as a donation and Alaska officials turned down the offer. Again, the veracity of this I have no doubts about. It’s whether or not the government will admit to anything or keep paperwork hidden.

I resent referral to Jim Loback as “that guy” and the tone taken. Jim put a lot of work into the effort to save STORIS and is a veteran of multiple branches of the armed services. It says a lot about the GSA bureaucrats to speak in such a disrespectful, cavalier fashion about someone so dedicated to preserving a legendary icon of U.S. Maritime Heritage.

GSA refused to make an exception to their plans to sell the ship by reopening the donation period to allow the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets to claim the vessel through the public benefit provisions of federal law, as they are registered recipients of GSA surplus. However, GSA allowed the buyer exceptions with his lengthy noncompliance in removing the ship from the SBRF and last-minute provision of a Certificate of Financial Responsibility for insurance coverage related to pollution prevention.

Also on pg 27, the June 28, 2013 email from Dave Robbins, Director of Office of Personal Property, states that it is not in the best interest of the government to force the Coast Guard to pay to dispose of the vessel.  Apparently GSA doesn't appear to know that domestic ship recycling companies would pay the government to dispose of the vessel. Again, if we had known they were going to sell the ship for $70,100, we could have put that money together.

It still remains to be seen what will happen to STORIS’ CG neighbors in the SBRF, the former USCGC PLANETREE (WLB-307) and USCGC IRIS (WLB-395), two 180-foot Seagoing Buoy Tenders. The two WWII-build WLBs are ironically designated as unsellable because they contain levels of asbestos and PCBs above government regulated levels. They were built after STORIS. It is likely, and has already been acknowledged with a MOA between MARAD and the CG, that the government will have to pay to have the two buoy tenders scrapped because of the associated regulations for the haz-mat and their small size. They are not 600-foot tankers that displace 12,000 tons…

GSA insisted that it was in the best interests of the government to accept the offer, but it obviously wasn’t in the best interests of the ship. And in the long run, the $70,100 that the government took in for STORIS certainly would have been exponentially eclipsed by the economic and cultural benefits of preserving the ship as a living history museum vessel and training ship for the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets. But the bureaucrats can’t see that.

GSA incorrectly states that the second bid for STORIS was submitted by the STORIS Museum. While the Museum was a registered bidder, we did not bid as we had a poor cell phone connection with the financial backer, who was out of the country on a business trip in the Caribbean. Secondly, as the bidding clearly had not reached the reserve price, according to the rules posted on the GSA Web site, the assumption would be that the ship would not be sold and would be relisted with a lower or no reserve. GSA pulled the wild card also published on their site that they basically could do whatever they wanted in accepting bids, as highlighted in Document 1.

The communication stream repeats over and over again for dozens of pages, with little new added information.

Around page 180, Tonya Dillard, the sales official directly responsible for STORIS sale, sends the following message:

“From: Tonya Dillard - 4QSCA <tonyar.dillard@gsa.gov>

To: Mike Wyckoff - QSCB <michael.wyckoff@gsa.gov>

CC: Deone Mcmillan <deone.mcmillan@gsa.gov>

You're welcome We have been dealing with these individuals submitting inquiries for a while. I will not be voiding the sale. The successful bidder has paid for the vessel and he had to get insurance to get the COFR documentation. The successful bidder has invested a lot of money into getting the vessel removed.”

Who made the request to void the sale? And where is the proof that money had been spent to move the ship. The COFR wasn’t issued until literally just before the ship was moved. We’ve already seen that MARAD was not happy with the delays in removing STORIS from the Reserve Fleet, and we already had heard from reliable contacts on the West Coast that the buyer was trying to make arrangements to make the ship “disappear into a hole” somewhere in the Bay Area to be scrapped using hired migrant workers in a wholly illegal process.

Again, the document repeats over and over again, with several inches of white space between paragraphs and an occasional blank page. No wonder they claim that it will take 5,000 pages to fulfill the request. What waste, but it’s the government.

Around pg 239, the KMXT radio story surfaces where I was interviewed Oct. 28 about the ship containing PCBs and having been illegally exported based on our suspicions that the ship contained illegal amounts of the toxic substances to have been allowed to leave the country. There is never an answer presented as to what GSA’s position was related to the allegations of PCBs on board the ship. Presumably they will fall back on the flawed paperwork from the Coast Guard that states the ship was free of regulated PCBs. Of course, we know that there was a significant quantity of undocumented old wiring and cable on board the ship that likely contained PCBs above regulated levels, plus any original paints with PCB flame retardants on the interior of the ship that were buried under years of subsequent layers.

And the rest is repetitive, once again.

Overall, the correspondence with GSA is reaffirming that the bureaucrats at that agency, particularly Heather Bischoff and Tonya Dillard, bear direct and heavy responsibility for the sequence of events related to the destruction of STORIS. This, enabled by a government culture of incompetence within their management structure and the federal government as a whole.

The next GSA release is supposedly to come out sometime in February.

Final MARAD post released; little new information revealed -- Appeal to be filed

Here is the last part of the MARAD FOIA release. There are 181 pages, most of which are location reports for where STORIS was kept within the SBRF and condition reports, all of which indicate that the ship was in good physical condition, had no leaks and was otherwise not a source of problems for MARAD. The majority of these pages are redacted as they also gave information for the other ships in the SBRF. Since the information did not pertain directly to STORIS (and probably showed that the other ships had serious problems that MARAD doesn’t want to publicize), the information was redacted.

Again, the subjective redactions related to “attorney-client privilege” and “deliberative process privilege” have been applied.

Here is the cover letter: http://goo.gl/1Q0P9g

The released documents are here: http://goo.gl/Ufr3q8

Some information they compiled involved the Coast Guard and GSA. Those agencies have to be individually contacted to determine whether that information can be released. The GSA contact letter from MARAD is here: http://goo.gl/tEs7O6, while the CG letter is here: http://goo.gl/izTI1c.

The game of keep-away otherwise continues with the four agencies involved with STORIS’ excessing and destruction. I have not heard from EPA or USCG in several MONTHS. With the beginning of the new year, I will have to reach out to them to ask what is going on with the requests submitted to those agencies and their responses. I will likely have to turn to the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) again for assistance, though that group – affiliated with the National Archives – has no authority or enforcement power to compel release of records.

I have been in contact with some Michigan legislators to ask for help in this situation. The election has changed the roster of involved lawmakers somewhat, but once they have settled into Washington, I will be in touch. I suspect it may come down to getting ALL of the STORIS supporters involved to push legislators into going after these agencies to release the information we seek. The alternative is to file lawsuits in federal court. Since STORIS Museum no longer exists and I cannot personally afford to subsidize such an endeavor, that is not a practical approach at this time.

Pages 166-167 outline costs charged by MARAD to the CG for maintaining the ship. Again, looking at the money charged/spent for six years of museum donation hold for STORIS, that the government only took in $70,100 for her sale is ludicrous.

Wait until you see the second GSA release when money is discussed. That will make your blood boil when you see that discussion, and that’s only scraping the surface of what is supposed to be coming from GSA.

Pgs. 176-181 are discussions among MARAD and USCG personnel about the STORIS Museum and potential transfer questions regarding the ship. They are redacted and have been referred to the Coast Guard to determine whether or not the information can be released. I have not had any contact with Coast Guard in months, so I have no idea what the status is on the decision to release that information.

Conspicuously missing from this correspondence is any documentation that would have gone up the chain of command at MARAD, particularly to Paul "Chip" Jaenichen, MARAD Deputy Administrator (acting chief administrator, who was permanently promoted to that position in summer 2014).

This is labeled as the last MARAD documentation to come out of the FOIA Request and the appeal is underway and to be submitted by Jan. 11, 2015. There are lots of problems with what MARAD has sent. These problems mirror those of other organizations and people are experiencing, so we’re not alone, but at the same time, it does nothing to answer questions about the mishandling of STORIS and MARAD’s complicity in the sequence of events that ended with the ship’s destruction in Mexico.

MARAD FOIA Release No. 6 of Oct 10

Okay, finally here is the 92-page FOIA release from MARAD dated October 10. This would be the sixth release. While there is a lot of helpful information, there is also a lot of useless garbage, which has come to be expected from the government.

For an agency that claims that STORIS was not their ship and that they had nothing to do with her beyond just giving her a place to be moored, MARAD officials sure are busy withholding information through the “deliberative process” and “attorney-client privilege” redaction processes.

And nowhere is Section 3502 of the Duncan Hunter NDAA of 2009 mentioned. This is the law that made STORIS’ export to Mexico for dismantling ILLEGAL. The other relevant federal law, 40 USC 548, is also nowhere to be seen anywhere in this correspondence.

The sections had to be posted in pieces as I had to redact additional personal information from the documents.

The cover letter is here: http://goo.gl/SZkZ5f

Sec 1- Pages 1-15 – http://goo.gl/4XE1Mp

Sec 2- Pages 16-32 – http://goo.gl/UcbAAM

Sec 3- Pages 33-49 – http://goo.gl/cSDpBZ

Sec 4- Pages 50-64 – http://goo.gl/Fp4FLV

Sec 5- Pages 65-82 – http://goo.gl/544ld3

Sec 6- Pages 83-92 – http://goo.gl/PWu4OW

A summation of the information is as follows:

Pg 1-6 - Internal discussion re my inquiry of Oct 28 as the ship was headed for Ensenada
Pg 7 – Note (link?) of Denise Rucker Krepp (former MARAD general counsel) op-ed on sale of ship

Pg 8-15 more links to various news stories of interest to MARAD (non STORIS)

Pg 15 – Note re: KMXT story about STORIS supporters seeing possibility of saving ship

Pg 15-22 – More news stories

Pg 23 – Same as pg 15

Pg 24-25 – More news stories

Pg 26-29 – Internal news story updates for MARAD staff, redacted as nonresponsive

Pg 30-31 – Inquiry from Jessica York of Vallejo Times about the ship.

Pg 32 – Additional news stories, redacted

Pg 33 – Discussion/summary of PCBs and TSCA with response redacted through atty/client and deliberative process privileges

Pg 34-44 – More discussion among MARAD officials including Curt Michanzyk about STORIS in response to the message I sent the morning of Oct. 28 as the ship was en route to Mexico.

Pg 44 – Reference again to “interesting discussion among my staff about what appears to be a PCB-free vessel…” from Kevin Tokarski and back to Joe Pecoraro’s memo about Jeff Siragusa walking the ship. Then there is the question about William Cahil asking about whether the ship is PCB free.

Pg 45 – Question from Kevin Tokarski about where the ship is going, answered by Joe Pecoraro as Ensenada. Tokarski’s question is partially redacted through deliberative process. More discussion on Pg 46 with mention of departure date “slipping for some time.”

Pg 47 – Oct. 22 email from Joe Geldhof of STORIS Museum asking about bottom cleaning. Also an Oct 10 inquiry from Geldhof regarding what would happen to the ship if Jurisich abandoned the ship to the government.

Pg 50 – reference to a June 17 Anchorage Daily News story and some possible speculative “wonder if” statement by Kevin Tokarski which has been redacted under deliberative process.

Pg 60 – Load line exemption cert and photos of the departure

Pg 61-64 – Back to more discussion related to my Oct. 28 email

Pg 65 – March 12 email stream re: flag status, EPA information re: STORIS and PCBs,

Pg 66 – STORIS was mentioned at a meeting on March 12 (Denise Krepp had made a presentation at the USCG Committee Meeting) and reference to Danielle Ivory’s 12/24/13 FOIA from the NY Times. Email is from Gregory O’Brien of State Department. It is interesting that the State Department is involved.

Pg 61-73 – More discussion among MARAD about towing/departure information such as the Siragusa walkthrough as above.

Pg 73 – Discussion between Kevin Tokarski and Barbara Voulgaris (historic preservation officer for MARAD) about STORIS, the Last Patrol and museum use

Pg 73-78- More discussion about ship departure.

Pg 79 – statement that USCG does not fall under the definition of a US citizen. Must be in relation to ownership and transfer. (Obviously ignoring Duncan Hunter Section 3502).

Pg. 79 – Explanation that if the ship was never documented in the U.S. then various sections of foreign transfer regulations would not apply.

Pg 80-87- More discussion about departure arrangements, much repeated from earlier correspondence

Pg 88- 89  Discussion of GLACIER, custody vs. retention, IRIS, STORIS, PLANETREE from inquiry from House T&I

Pg 90-92 legal interpretation of 88-89, redacted of course

I have since received additional correspondence from MARAD. This includes a fee waiver rejection, a positive partial response to a previously filed appeal that will release some of the information redacted in the information above and 181 pages of miscellaneous information that I am still reviewing.

This last release marks from MARAD’s point of view, their FINAL RESPONSE, so I have less than 45 days at this point to start putting together my final official appeal to the FOIA request. As indicated as each of these releases has been posted, there are serious holes in the information released, so there will be a lot of points to discuss as that appeal process moves forward.

Please take the time to read this information as it has and continues to be a lot of work to fight for this.

STORIS is worth it. She should have been saved and I, along with all of you, want answers.