The El Yuque was scrapped because CG Sector Seattle came aboard with chipping hammer.
The story is on pages 80-82 of the MBI report.
From March 18 to August 14, 2016, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Marine Inspectors
made several visits to EL YUNQUE and, despite the February 2016, ABS survey and testimony
from the ABS surveyor, recorded the following pertinent findings:April 6-12, 2016: Directed extensive third party gauging for multiple suspect locations
on the main deck. Found evidence of long-standing and uncorrected wastage.
May 20, 2016: Examined supply vents for the Holds 1-3 port and starboard (6 total).
Observed gaskets missing; holes in vent ducts; gasket flanges wasted; and holes in the
side shell in way of vent inlets (see figure 28). Required all items to be added to the work
list.
August 14, 2016: TOTE halted work and requested to place the vessel in a lay-up vessel
to be scrapped.
December 23, 2016: Received notification that the vessel arrived at Brownsville, TX.
Changed vessel status to “scrapped” in the Coast Guard’s MISLE database.
I doubt if senior management had a clue about the condition of those ships. Tote shifted the El Yuqnque to the USWC for the Tacoma to Anchorage run. Maybe the officer in charge of Marine Inspection at Seattle Sector was worried it’d go down on his watch. That’d look bad