Work under way to clean old warships near San Francisco Bay

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Work is under way to clean the first vessels removed from a fleet of decaying warships shedding toxic paint into waters near San Francisco Bay.</p><p>Barnacles and other marine species are being water-blasted this week from the World War II-era Earlham Victory at a San Francisco dry dock. The first cleaned vessel was towed through the Golden Gate last week.</p><p>Most of the 70 ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet are slated to be scrapped. They must be cleaned of invasive species before they can be towed to Texas for dismantling.</p><p>State regulators concerned about additional pollution fought a Bush Administration plan to clean the ships at anchor.</p><p>The Department of Transportation announced in October that it would pay to have the vessels scrubbed in dry dock.</p><p>___</p><p>Information from: Contra Costa Times</p>