Ship sinking exercises

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The USS Towers (DDG-9) sinks in the Pacific Ocean after being fired during a SINKEX
Sinking of the amphibious assault ship USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) as part of a SINKEX off Hawaii

Ship Sinking Exercises ( SINKEX ) denote weapon tests and sinking exercises by the United States Navy and its military allies on decommissioned warships and the associated disposal on the seabed .

background

One way to dispose of decommissioned and decommissioned warships is to use them as a target ship . There are specific locations for the US Navy where ships are sunk in maneuvers. These four regions are mostly off the coasts of California , Puerto Rico , the east coast of the United States, and north of Hawaii . The marine areas in which these sinkings take place must have a minimum water depth of 1828 meters and a distance of at least 92 km from the nearest shore.

Additional practice locations are chosen primarily for reasons of practicality. The USS La Moure County (LST-1194) was sunk off the coast of Chile because it had suffered serious damage in an accident and repairs or a return transport to the home port would have been too expensive.

criticism

Before a ship is sunk, everything that could harm the environment has to be removed from it since 1996, but in addition to lead, asbestos or mercury, at least 660 tons of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been shown to have been sunk with the ships since 1999 . In 2008, fish in the waters in which the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany was sunk in 2006 contained PCB levels that were above the limit values. The authorities then ordered that no ships containing PCBs may be sunk in Florida or neighboring federal waters. Ship recycling companies accuse the government of destroying jobs with the program and they complain about lost revenues in the millions. According to official Navy announcements, 99 ships were sunk between 1990 and 2011 as part of SINKEX. In the same period, only 64 ships were scrapped and recycled in ship recycling companies.

Gun tests and sinkings in other countries

Similar weapons tests and exercises have been carried out by other states for about 100 years. Among the first German ships to serve as target ships were the liner SMS Baden , which was sunk as a target ship by the Royal Navy in 1921 after a failed self- sinking, and the SMS Hessen , which was used as a target ship by the Reichsmarine from 1934 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Commander Naval Surface Force, US Pacific Fleet: Third SINKEX during RIMPAC
  2. ↑ SINKEX Frequently Asked Questions ( Memento from August 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Web links