US Navy needs more time to figure out how to recycle USS Enterprise

The U.S. Navy has decided to recall an August 2016 Request for Proposal for the commercial recycling of the non-nuclear portions of ex-USS Enterprise (CVN 65), noting that it needs more time to evaluate the best way to recycle the ship.

The navy said it requires more information to determine the approach for the disposal of CVN 65, including the reactor plants, that would be more technically executable and environmentally responsible.

The are three options for the disposal of the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the navy said. The first includes commercial recycling of the non-nuclear portions of the ship followed by reactor compartment packaging at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS&IMF). The second is a commercial recycling of the entire ship, which includes dismantling the eight defueled reactor plants.

A third option evaluates placing CVN 65 in intermediate-term storage for a limited number of years and deferring the disposal path decision for a later date.

According to the navy, the CVN 65 inactivation availability at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) should conclude in August 2017, and then CVN 65 will be placed into temporary storage which is yet to be found.