Opening of first US west coast ship recycling facility

Prior to the creation of the new facility, obsolete ships were cleaned before removal from the Bay Area and then towed through the Panama Canal to MARAD (U.S. Maritime Administration)-approved recycling facilities located along the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic coast.  Allied Defense Recycling, using the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, will both remove marine growth on their dry dock and recycle the ships, which will generally result in decreased recycling costs and reduced delays associated with the process of cleaning and recycling ships in separate facilities.  

In 2009, ADR received approval to open a ship dismantling and repair service on the site. Since receiving the contracts from MARAD, the company has hired 50 people, many of which are former base employees.