Why Are Aircraft Carriers Sold For Scrap So Cheaply?
The US Navy has sold some of its most iconic aircraft carriers after decommissioning for a penny.
This has led many to question why this has happened, as carriers cost billions to build but are then sold for scrap for just one cent.
It seems baffling to be sure.
However, the costs of towing, dismantling, scrapping, and recycling their valuable metals and obsolete technologies can exceed their resale value. But a penny?
Why does the Navy sell its decommissioned carriers so cheaply?
Some Factors in the Scrapping Procedures For Aircraft Carriers:
High dismantling and recycling costs are a significant factor.
Decommissioned aircraft carriers are massive and complex vessels containing large amounts of metal, electronics, and potentially hazardous materials.
Disposing of them properly requires a specialized process of dismantling, environmental cleanup, and recycling, which is expensive and time-consuming.
In many cases, these costs can outweigh the potential profits from selling the scrap metal.
Obsolete technology has little value. By the time aircraft carriers are decommissioned, their advanced operating systems, including computing and sensor technologies, are often outdated and have little to no resale value.
The costs of towing and storage can be massive. Moving these enormous carriers to a dismantling facility, often thousands of miles away, incurs significant towing costs. The Navy also wants to avoid the ongoing expense of maintaining them in inactive status.
Contractual arrangements also play a key role. The Navy and the government are not allowed to give away scrap. Therefore, selling a carrier for a nominal fee allows the Navy to enter into a contract with a shipbreaking company that will assume responsibility for the dismantling process and associated costs.
The company will then recoup its investment through the sale of the recycled materials.
In 2021, the Navy Sold Two Carriers For 2 Cents:
The Navy made headlines in 2021 when it sold two aircraft carriers to a ship-breaking company for one cent each.
Naval Sea Systems Command said it had agreed to sell the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS John F. Kennedy to International Shipbreaking Limited, which is based in Brownsville, Texas.
Alan Baribeau, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command, stated in a press release, “The contract values reflect that the contracted company will benefit from the subsequent sale of scrap steel, iron, and non-ferrous metal ores.”
The USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) was commissioned in 1961 and decommissioned in 2009 after serving nearly 48 years.
The Kitty Hawk deployed to Vietnam and Somalia in 1992 for Operation Restore Hope, humanitarian relief operations for the people of Somalia. It once famously bumped a Soviet submarine that was tailing her in the Pacific.
The USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 was the Navy’s last conventionally powered carrier since all other carriers built subsequently had nuclear propulsion.
The carrier was commissioned into service in 1968. It was initially categorized as a fixed-wing attack carrier (CVA), which was later changed to a fleet carrier (CV). The aircraft carrier served the US Navy for about forty years before being retired.
In June 1982, the USS JFK was deployed off the coast of Lebanon to evacuate American civilians due to the ongoing conflict between Israeli forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
It returned to Lebanon in October 1983, after a refit, when Hezbollah terrorists detonated a bomb in the Marine barracks and a French barracks in Beirut, killing over 300 troops.
The next day, the Kennedy and Independence conducted airstrikes in the Bekka Valley, taking a significant toll on the terrorists there. Further deployments during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, where the carrier launched 2,895 combat sorties during the battle, for a total of 11,263 flight hours.
Other combat deployments in Bosnia/Herzegovina and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 followed.
The USS John F. Kennedy dropped over 62 million pounds of ordnance on Taliban and al-Qaeda targets throughout the OEF deployment. They also provided close air support to US and Coalition forces on the ground, occasionally collaborating with Special Forces units.
“After returning home from the 2004 deployment, the ship spent several years exercising off the U.S. East Coast and participating in various high-level media events. John F. Kennedy was ultimately decommissioned in 2007,” wrote the Navy History and Heritage Command.
That was to be the carrier’s final deployment.
Penny for Your Aircraft Carrier Thoughts?
Ultimately, the 1-cent sale price is more symbolic of a transfer of responsibility for a costly dismantling and scrapping project, rather than a reflection of the ship’s material value.
The primary objective is the efficient and environmentally sound disposal of outdated naval assets, rather than generating significant revenue from their sale.
About the Author:
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
