Bitcoin Forum

Why do governments sink ships instead of melting it back to base metals?

Think about the first part of your question a little bit more.

"Why do governments"

Let me ask you:

What incentive do governments have?

Because it's easier to sink a sheep than bring it on-shore, break it down, and melt it down?

At least for now.  Once metals become scarce (if they do), their value will skyrocket and these things won't happen anymore.

And, congratulations on Post #2

You must be talking about that ship near alaska that the US wants to sink. I suppose it would be a lot of work towing it to a place capable of stripping it down.

MY QUESTION IS NOT METAPHORICAL OR RHETORICAL BY NATURE. DO THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE.

LOOSE LIPS

In the US, it's because of an incredible complete bureaucracy.

You wouldn't believe how a seemingly simple action needs to first go through a number of departments to get approval.
These approvals take time, energy, and dedication in their consistency.

It's much easier for the bureaucrats in charge to do what they've already been doing in the past and not deal with the other bureaucrats in this bureaucratic system.

So they instead take the straightforward, but not optimal, way out and do what's best for them (or their dept) rather then what's best for the country and the people. Just my opinion anyways.

This has nothing to do with bureaucracies.  Many private entities sink ships also.

OP it is simply expensive to strip, cut, and melt ships.  Far cheaper to just sink it.  They also becomes artificial reefs so that becomes a plus given the rate we are destroying natural reefs.

Kinda the same question of "why do people throw away metal, paper, glass & plastics only to have to mine new resources out of the earth each year"?

Moral boost (training lesson) for a bunch of trigger happy guys?
 

Recycling metal is almost as expensive as mining it out of the ground. Add to that the cost of dismantling the ship (which is a huge job, requiring a drydock facility), and it's just not worth it. Metal has to become a lot more valuable in order for recycling a ship to become profitable.

This is an interesting little article on Shipbreakers in India: http://moneylinked.blogspot.com/2011/01/ship-breakers-in-india.html

The Coast Guard said it would be too dangerous to either repair or salvage. There was a party who wanted to go get it but they were refused permission due to the aforementioned reasons.

It's a good thing that we have a Coast Guard to save people from themselves!

Yup, it was so dangerous it took them several attempts and some time to sink it.

what

The US government blows things up because blowing things up is a component of GDP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product).  A rising GDP gives the government an excuse to claim that the economy is doing well, which gives them an excuse to borrow money to spend on blowing more things up, also known as "providing government services."  This borrowed money is provided by the central bank, known as the Federal Reserve, which prints money out of thin air to lend to the US government to blow things up, at interest.  This interest is also known as the national debt, and will never be repaid anyways so it doesn't matter.  Welcome to America.

I can't say that I blame the Coast Guard for sinking that ship, it must be tough to sail around the ocean all day every day with a big ol' cannon and not shoot at anything. Finally something to shoot at! Good hits, Coast Guard, good hits!

Lol love this post. Had to read it twice over :)

The title remembered me of this documentary about indian shipbreakers. www.ipexview.com/solution/videos/National_Film_Board_of_Canada/Shipbreakers/64/

Poor sheep   :'(

I wonder if the EPA made them burn all the fuel and such, as they would the rest of us.

I would imagine any unused fuel has been removed via pump to be used elsewhere.  THAT'S a cheap process, and considering how expensive fuel is, they'd be fools not to.

Also, @OP, because blowing stuff up is fun, and boys never grow up.

I saw something on TV about this. It's actually a very thorough process. They strip practically everything except the metal from the ship and tow it out to a place they want a reef. Then they cut giant holes in it and let it sink. It's actually pretty good for ocean life because they use them to start new reefs.

Why do governments do X?
... uhm how would we know? Ask them governments!

Don´t know how it is handled at your place, geffaxiv-532. Here you´d just ask a member of parliament.