The final voyage of the formerly nuclear reactor-equipped barge STURGIS began Tuesday, as it was towed out of the Port of Galveston, Texas, on its way to shipbreaking in Brownsville.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Sept. 14 that it had completed decommissioning the world’s first floating atomic energy facility — a former World War II Liberty Ship that carried a reactor for power generation operations in Panama from 1968 to 1974.
The three-year program managed by contractor APTIM Federal Services included full removal of the MH-1A reactor and other radioactive waste totaling 1.5 million pounds of material. The waste was sent to a disposal complex in West Texas.
Towing to the International Shipbreaking facility in Brownsville is expected to take two to three days, according to an Army Corps press release. Once on site the company will conduct further radiological surveys of STURGIS.
“In addition to the rigorous testing and retesting performed by the Corps of Engineers verifying that no radioactive materials remain on the STURGIS, ISL officials will conduct another independent survey to confirm that the vessel is clean,” Eduardo Campirano, port director and CEO for the Port of Brownsville, said in the release. “We are confident the STURGIS is safe and poses no harm to the facilities of the port and the surrounding areas, otherwise it would not be allowed here.”
International Shipbreaking is expected by early next year to complete work on its $1.9 million contract to break apart the barge. Roughly 5,500 tons of steel and other materials are due to be recycled.
