Siren voices from the beaches of Chittagong are beginning to be heard. Tankers are the main target since they tend to have a high steel content. An exception is the old campaigner Wilson (ex-President Wilson, ex-Sue Lykes). The vessel (pictured right) was delivered from Newport News in 1969, at a time when bunkers were generally below $12 per tonne. With steam turbine machinery and a speed of 21 knots, it was one of the original gas-guzzlers. Another attraction for the Bangladeshis is the high scantlings to which US ships have traditionally been built and the high non-ferrous content in the vessel. So the ship was built for $ 15.7M and has now gone for scrap for $7.3M, despite nearly four decades of steady use: not a bad life!
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