Mallow Bay Shipwrecks
Ships Operated:
WWI (1917-1918)
Location:
38.472610, -77.268585
Key Figures:
Emergency Fleet Cooperation, Western Marine & Salvage Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Trust
Other Names:
Ghost Fleet of the Potomac
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
Before Mallows Bay
During World War I, Germany was sinking merchandise and aid vessels constantly. When the U.S. joined the war, the government created the Emergency Fleet Cooperation. They produced ships at fast rates, which resulted in majority not even making it to Europe as they sunk or were only partially completed by the end of the war. This cost the U.S. $300 million and the scrap was sold for $750,000.
About 169 ships rest at the bottom of Mallows Bay after being dragged from a boat yard in Alexandria, VA during the Great Depression when scrap sales declined sharply. On November 7, 1925, a fire broke out on 31 of the ships
During World War II, Bethlehem Steel Corporation bought the ships to turn into scrap metal in Baltimore.
Eventually, the boats would remain forgott
In Mallows Bay
During the 1960s, a company called Idamont, Inc. bought the ships to turn into scrap metal again. But protests erupted and the government considered for the first time that there might be an ecosystem developing around the ships now. Since then, no one is allowed to remove the ships.
In July 2019, Mallows Bay became the first national marine sanctuary in Maryland.
“To see and be among these ships that were built all over the country a hundred years ago is really powerful.”
-- Judy Lathrop