Prison ships were an important part of American history. A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. During the American War of Independence, British prison ships like the HMS Jersey were used to house insurrectionists in New York Harbor.

Several years ago Guantanamo Bay was anticipated to be abandoned as a prison. In these troubled times domestically and internationally, it is rumored that a major expansion of the facility may be in order. If the rumors are true, where will the funding come from for the expansion? A solution is possibly being considered by a non-profit organization (GBR). GBR is thought to be raising money to purchase cruise ships that have been taken out of service and planned to be scrapped. The goal is apparently to acquire three of these larger ships. There are many ships available from cruise lines like Carnival. https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/which-cruise-ships-will-be-scrapped-or-taken-out-of-service

While some of these larger ships had a capacity of over 4000 passengers, they can be reconfigured at modest costs to house up to 10,000 prisoners composed of foreign and domestic persons who have been determined to be criminals. Due to the minimum costs for ships scheduled to be dismantled, the additional costs are primarily for additional beds and the ships being painted a less ‘pleasure cruise’ color (perhaps olive drab) that would also mask rust stains caused by salt water and the lack of future cosmetic maintenance which will no longer be a priority.

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