Columbia a parking lot for derelict ships?

PORTLAND, Wash., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- An environmentalist says a leaking barge docked near Vancouver, Wash., is only one of the "floating toxic waste dumps" moored in the Columbia River.

The Davy Crockett, a 431-foot converted Liberty ship built during World War II, broke open last week after someone began removing parts for scrap, The (Portland) Oregonian reported. The U.S. Coast Guard says it has sucked up 1,450 gallons of oil and diesel fuel and has booms around the barge to contain the leak.

Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia RiverKeeper, said there are hundreds more old ships moored in the Columbia River and its tributaries. He said the older vessels often contain long-banned substances such as asbestos and PCBs, and called them "floating toxic waste dumps."

"If you have an old barge that's not worth anything anymore, do you pay to get it taken out of the river and scrapped or do you just leave it there? If agencies allow owners to use the river as a parking lot for derelict vessels, then people will continue to do it," VandenHeuvel told The Oregonian.

Both Washington and Oregon have programs to remove abandoned boats, but they are geared to smaller vessels. Bryan Flint, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, said the Coast Guard and regulatory agencies tend not to notice vessels unless they threaten ship traffic or have started to leak.