Over the course of yesterday, the United States Navy has announced that it is advancing in the dismantling of its first decommissioned nuclear aircraft carrier, this through the awarding of the corresponding contract to a private industry actor to carry out the work. Specifically, it is the former USS Enterprise (CVN-65), a one-of-a-kind aircraft carrier that was commissioned by the institution in the year 1961 and withdrawn from active service in the year 2012 after an extensive history of participation in combat operations.
Delving into some details of what was announced by the U.S. Navy, we can affirm that the company that won the open selection process to be awarded the contract for dismantling the aircraft carrier in question is NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services LLC, which is based in the state of Vermont; the same will partner with Modern American Recycling and Radiological Services for the disposal of the aircraft carrier’s radioactive material in accordance with established federal standards. In terms of funds invested for this, the force foresees a budget that would revolve around 536.7 million dollars, while the timeline stipulated to complete the work sets the deadline for the month of November 2029.
The aforementioned matter is not minor, considering that the new approach of contracting private companies for this type of task involving the disassembly of nuclear reactors and the management of their waste has saved the U.S. Navy close to one billion dollars in relation to contracting public shipyards. So has stated the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), highlighting at the same time that this allows for better use of the resources of said shipyards in the elements currently in service.
At the same time, as was initially mentioned, this represents the first occasion on which the U.S. Navy will carry out the dismantling of one of its nuclear aircraft carriers, with only conventionally powered ones having been affected until now; a recent example of this is found in the case of the former vessel USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) which in January of this year began its journey to scrapping at the shipyards of International Shipbreaking Limited in Texas, thus marking the definitive end of the Kitty Hawk class in the institution. This will allow for experience to be gained and for the established procedures to be evaluated in view of a future retirement of other aircraft carriers of the Nimitz class.
Finally, alluding to what was mentioned about the rich service history of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), it is worth recalling its activity as part of the Cold War, especially during the Vietnam War, where it became one of the pillars of the U.S. naval projection capabilities. Added to this, the vessel was involved in various operations launched in the Middle East after the September 11 attacks; specifically in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. After more than half a century in activity, the vessel was withdrawn from active service in 2012, while the nuclear fuel that powered it was extracted in 2017; since then, it had been awaiting its dismantling at the Newport News shipyards of HII.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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