page_title: USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98)
section_title: Decommissioning and disposal
hierarchical_section_title: USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98) / Decommissioning and disposal
caption_attribution_description: Ghost Fleet, Able UK, Hartlepool. Visible are: USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98), USS Canisteo (AO-99), the bridge of USS Canopus (AS-34), and just a mast of USS Compass Island (AG-153).
context_page_description: USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98) was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler constructed for the U.S. Navy for use in World War II but commissioned too late for service in that conflict. However, she had a lengthy career during the Cold War that followed. She was the only U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Caloosahatchee, after the Caloosahatchee River in southwest Florida.
  Caloosahatchee (AO-98) was launched 2 June 1945 by Bethlehem Steel-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. C. L. Andrews; acquired by the Navy 10 October 1945; commissioned the same day, Commander H. R. Livingston, USNR, in command; and reported to Commander, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet.
context_section_description: Caloosahatchee was decommissioned on 28 February 1990, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 July 1994. She was transferred to the Maritime Administration on 18 December 1998 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, Virginia. Caloosahatchee was sold for scrapping to Able UK, Hartlepool, Teesside, UK, and removed from the Reserve Fleet under tow, arriving in the United Kingdom on 12 November 2003.
  Caloosahatchee and three other decommissioned Navy ships, Canisteo, Canopus and Compass Island all arrived at Able UK under the same contract and came to be known as the "Hartlepool Four".  Local protests and legal challenges, alleging unacceptable amounts of toxic substances contained on and in the vessels, delayed scrapping until Able UK secured the appropriate waste management licensing in August 2008. Scrapping of Caloosahatchee commenced in November 2009 and was complete by April 2010.
caption: Caloosahatchee at Hartlepool, in 2004.
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