USS Enterprise Sets Sail for Alabama for Final Dismantling
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The former nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) set sail on November 2, 2026, from Newport News Shipbuilding, in Virginia, under tow bound for Mobile, Alabama, where it will be dismantled. The U.S. Navy confirmed the start of the vessel's final voyage, considered the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Contract and costs
According to Maritime Executive, the dismantling contract was awarded to NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services for a fixed amount of $536 million, in partnership with Modern American Recycling and Radiological Services. gCaptain, however, reports that the contract with the Navy was for $418.5 million, awarded in July 2026, while Marine Insight states that the entire process will cost Washington more than $1 billion. All three sources agree that the work will include recycling materials and transporting radioactive waste to authorized disposal sites.
A career spanning more than five decades
The Enterprise, known as "Big E," took part in naval operations during the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and later conflicts in the Middle East, according to all three sources. The vessel sailed more than one million nautical miles under nuclear propulsion throughout its operational life, was inactivated in December 2012, and formally decommissioned in 2017.
Commissioning date, with a discrepancy between sources
Maritime Executive and gCaptain state that the Enterprise was commissioned in 1961, with the latter outlet specifying that it occurred on November 25 of that year. Marine Insight, however, notes that the ship was commissioned in 1960 and entered service the following year, in 1961. The discrepancy is limited to the exact year of formal commissioning, while all sources agree that it entered service in 1961.
What's next
Maritime Executive and Marine Insight report that the carrier will occupy a berth near where the ocean liner SS United States is located, which will be sunk to become an artificial reef. According to gCaptain, the dismantling of the Enterprise will continue until September 2030, while Maritime Executive indicates that the Department of Defense had planned to complete it by November 2029. The name's legacy will continue with the future Ford-class aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise (CVN 80), which will be the ninth Navy vessel to bear the name.
