ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands – The U.S Army Corps of Engineers, in coordination with the Wilmington District’s Contracting Branch, awarded a contract Jan. 13 for Marine Debris Reduction and Off-Island Disposal.
The $6.3 million-contract was awarded to CERES Environmental Services, Inc., headquartered in Sarasota, Florida.
CERES remove marine debris from the Sea Plane Debris Management Site in St. Croix and Red Hook in the U.S. Virgin Island National Park, St. Thomas. The marine debris will be disposed off island, along with construction and demolition materials collected at St. Thomas.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is happy to be working with the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard to dispose of these derelict vessels in a safe and efficient way,” said Kim Pinkston, with the Corps’ Louisville District.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria left more than 1 million cubic yards of debris in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including an estimated 400 marine vessels. More than 550,000 cubic yards of debris has been recovered from the United States Virgin Island. The damaged or destroyed vessels are recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard and turned over to the Virgin Islands (Department of Planning and Natural Resources) for further processing. Once DPNR has completed their processing, the vessels are classified as marine debris and released to the Corps for reduction and later disposal off island.
The USACE debris removal and technical assistance mission is 71% complete.