Editing Scuttling (section)

== Contemporary era ==
[[File:Adelaide pre-scuttling.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A small warship tied up alongside at a wharf. Her communications and radar masts have been crudely downsized, she carries no weapons, and several large squares have been cut into the ship's hull.|{{HMAS|Adelaide|FFG 01|6}} prior to scuttling to be used as an artificial reef]]
Today, ships (and other objects of similar size) are sometimes sunk to help form [[artificial reef]]s, as was done with the former {{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|6}} in 2006. It is also common for [[military]] organizations to use old ships as [[target practice|targets]], in [[War exercise|war games]], or for various other experiments. As an example, the decommissioned [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|America|CV-66|6}} was subjected to surface and underwater explosions in 2005 as part of classified research to help design the next generation of carriers (the {{sclass|Gerald R. Ford|aircraft carrier|4}}), before being sunk with demolition charges.

Ships are increasingly being scuttled as a method of disposal. The economic benefit of scuttling a ship includes removal of ongoing operational expense to keep the vessel seaworthy. Controversy surrounds the practice. The [[Artificial reef#USS Oriskany|USS ''Oriskany'']] was scuttled with 700 pounds of [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCBs]] remaining on board as a component in cable insulation,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/0/b8403da96273abfe85256fee0052d1a3!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.3#2. | title=PCBs Released from the ex-Oriskany Following Deployment as an Artificial Reef: Approach for Assessment of Human Health and Environmental Risks| first=Suhair| last=Shallal | access-date=15 March 2010}}</ref>  contravening the [[Stockholm Convention]] on safe disposal of [[persistent organic pollutant]]s, which has zero tolerance for PCB dumping in marine environments. The planned scuttling of the Australian frigate {{HMAS|Adelaide|FFG 01|6}} at [[Avoca Beach, New South Wales]] in March 2010 was placed on hold after [[resident action group]]s aired concerns about possible impact on the area's tides and that the removal of dangerous substances from the ship was not thorough enough.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/judge-fires-broadside-at-rush-to-sink-warship-20100329-r8en.html |title=Judge fires broadside at rush to sink warship |last=West |first=Andrew |date=30 March 2010 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=3 April 2010}}</ref> Further cleanup work on the hulk was ordered, and despite further attempts to delay, ''Adelaide'' was scuttled on 13 April 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/judge-orders-tough-new-rules-for-scuttling-20100915-15crw.html |title=Judge orders tough new rules for scuttling |last=Harvey |first=Ellie |author2=West, Andrew  |date=16 September 2010 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=20 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/04/13/3190277.htm |title=Dolphins delay scuttling of HMAS Adelaide |last=McMahon  |first=Jeanette |date=13 April 2011 |work=1223 ABC Newcastle |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref>

Scuttled ships have been used as conveyance for dangerous materials. In the late 1960s, the [[United States Army]] scuttled SS ''Corporal Eric G. Gibson'' and SS ''Mormactern'' with [[VX (nerve agent)|VX nerve gas]] rockets aboard as part of [[Operation CHASE]] — "CHASE" being Pentagon shorthand for "Cut Holes and Sink 'Em." Other ships have been "chased" containing [[Sulfur mustard|mustard agents]], [[bomb]]s, [[land mine]]s, and [[radioactive waste]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-02761sy0oct30,0,3545637.story?page=4 | title=Special Report, Part 1: The Deadliness Below| first=John | last=Bull | access-date=18 June 2007 | newspaper=The Daily Press |location = Norfolk, Virginia }}</ref>

In Somalian waters, [[Piracy in Somalia|pirate ships]] captured are scuttled. Most nations have little interest in prosecuting the pirates, thus this is usually the only repercussion.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In March 2022, Ukraine scuttled the [[Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny]], a Krivak-class frigate, due to encroaching Russian offensive operations that threatened to capture the frigate.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/806837.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608053644/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/806837.html | archive-date=8 June 2022 | title=Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, being under repair, flooded not to get to enemy – Reznikov }}</ref>

In February 2023, the [[Brazilian Navy]] scuttled the [[Ship commissioning|decommissioned]] [[Brazilian aircraft carrier São Paulo|aircraft carrier ''São Paulo'']] into the [[Atlantic Ocean]], following the rejections of [[injunction]]s from the [[Ministry of the Environment (Brazil)|Ministry of the Environment]] and the [[Federal Public Ministry]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 February 2023 |title=Brazil scuttles warship in Atlantic despite pollution concerns |work=RFI |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20230204-brazil-scuttles-warship-in-atlantic-despite-pollution-concerns |access-date=4 February 2023}}</ref>