Yes, I find it incredibly depressing. There are plenty of worn out ships that have served their purpose. Scrapping is what is best for them. But sometimes we scrap a ship that is perfect in every way, because of a decision made by someone in an office who has never even seen the vessel. Of course they have data that we never see, and sometimes there are contractual advantages to making wasteful decisions. But a few years ago, we decommissioned and scrapped a ship that was in better than new condition. We had been continuously upgrading the equipment and coatings for a decade. But the contract was renewed with the customer, which specified a replacement vessel. The new ship was built without many of the features that allowed the old one to be so adaptable, and cost more to run. I was there for the decommissioning of the old ship, but not there when they ran it up on the beach and killed it. It just makes me sick to think about that ship, shiny and rust free, with every piece of equipment working perfectly, and enough spare parts aboard to run for another decade, just chopped up and melted down. ugh.
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