Navy’s deep ship graveyard in Hawaii continues to grow

TL;DR - During the recently completed 2022 iteration of the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise, forces participating in the exercise sank two decommissioned Navy ships as part of what the military calls sink exercises, or SINKEX.

The Navy has conducted these sorts of exercises for decades to give sailors the opportunity to use their weapons on real targets — something the Navy doesn’t have the opportunity to do as often as other branches.

Before they’re towed out to sea, the decommissioned vessels must be defueled and scrubbed of potential toxic chemicals in a series of procedures laid out by the Environmental Protection Agency. But when it comes to tracking the exercises and their environmental impact in Hawaii, the Navy has little data.

August 15, 2022: Navy’s deep ship graveyard in Hawaii continues to grow, Honolulu Star-Advertiser