Bay Bridge Enterprises confirmed this week it's considering two and possibly three other sites in Oregon - and now one in Washington for a shipbreaking facility.

In a recent interview, CEO Mike Dunavant said his company could do the work in California, except due to labor costs and regulations, it's too expensive. At some point, the government has to deal with its ghost fleet, which Dunavant said grows by 10-15 vessels annually.

“It's never going to go away,” he said.

That means business for years to come.

Currently, there are 80 ships anchored in Suisun Bay, according to U.S. Maritime Administration. Fifty-nine are tagged for non-retention, meaning they can be recycled, or cleaned and sunk for artificial reefs or donated.

The four or so ships that would come to Oregon each year likely would be 450-footers or less. All would be former military research or cargo vessels. None, Dunavant said, would be former combatant ships. Workers would carve a vessel down to essentially a canoe and then drag the hull, using winches or bulldozers, onto concrete for cutting.

When Port of Newport announced Bay

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Bridge's proposal, the company's Virginia office was inundated with phone calls from Oregonians seeking jobs.

The $4 million facility would use 15 to 20 acres and employ between 100 and 125 people. Wages could range from $8 to $10 an hour for inexperienced workers, on up to $30 for highly experienced employees. Benefits would be included. And, Dunavant said, almost all workers would be hired locally.

If Newport's a go, he estimates the earliest a vessel could arrive at the facility would be in three months. More likely, it would take longer.

“I think Newport's taken a pounding. It's just really not necessary,” Dunavant said.

For Phil Hutchinson, executive director of the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, the community discussion is necessary, even if it's contentious.

“I think a certain amount of dialog is definitely healthy,” he said.

Hutchinson testified in support of Bay Bridge's proposal, because the community needs those jobs.

“The part you can never measure are the proponents who trust the commission to make the right choice.”

- City Editor Elise Hamner