Weatherby blamed skyrocketing fuel costs and unanticipated cleanup challenges as reasons why the project, originally estimated at $5.7 million, now requires another $2.3 million.

The cleanup has been intensive. Begun a year ago, more than 50,000 man-hours of work have been invested to rid the vessel of all environmental hazards. That meant removing paint, stripping out 900,000 feet of wiring potentially containing toxic PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) used in insulation before the carcinogen was banned, and off-loading any remaining waste petroleum products.

The end result, project officials say, will be a diversified shipwreck that should appeal to divers of all skill levels and provide benefits to the environment and economy.

Lawsuit
Colonna's Shipyard has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a New Jersey company of failing to pay $1.6 million for work on a James River Reserve Fleet ship.

Reefmakers of Moorestown, N.J., was hired by the city of Key West, Fla., to clean up the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a former Air Force missile range ship, and tow it to Florida for sinking as an artificial reef.

Colonna's claims it is owed $1.6 million for work cleaning the ship of oil, asbestos, PCBs and other toxic hazards, according to the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to "arrest" the ship, so it cannot be moved until the suit is ended.