News 
Ecological threats including oils and other industrial waste have been removed from a derelict Liberty ship located on the north shore of Columbia River near Camas.
The SS Davy Crockett, moored at the site for a number of years, suffered a significant structural failure during the past week and its owners were recently issued an administrative order by the United States Coast Guard to take cleanup action or face stiff monetary penalties.
According to a press release from Ballard Diving & Salvage, the Seattle based company was hired by the vessel’s owner to complete the cleanup. Trained salvage crews working on the ship included confined space teams and commercial dive teams, as well as remote underwater vehicles with sonar to locate and evaluate all sources of oil on and within the 442-foot vessel.
Eric Muller, director of sales and marketing for Ballard Diving & Salvage, declined on Monday to release the name of the ship’s owner.
According to the “American Merchant Marine at War,” organization, approximately 2,700 Liberty ships were built by the U.S. Maritime Commission during World War II, between September 1941 and September 1945. The mass-produced cargo ships were named after prominent Americans. Very few of them remain in operating condition today.
