The former USS Enterprise, the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is expected to arrive on the Mobile waterfront as soon as this fall, where it will be dismantled in a $418 million project the Navy has said should wrap up by September 2030. An exact tow date has not yet been set.
The deactivated, decommissioned carrier will be brought to the Modern American Recycling Service yard on the west bank of the Mobile River, south of the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf and north of the APM container terminal. According to NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services, the ship will be pulled onto a concrete ramp to be torn down. Its nuclear reactors have already been defueled, and the Department of War’s contract notice states that hazardous materials, including low-level radioactive waste, will be packaged and transported for disposal at authorized licensed sites.
Dale Liesch, a spokesman for the city of Mobile, said the former Enterprise could be moved to the city as soon as this fall. “We are confident the Navy has taken the necessary precautions to allow the USS Enterprise to be dismantled safely and without hindering the normal operations of the port,” Liesch said. He added that leadership from the Navy Office of Program Management, the Navy Environmental Division and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are expected to be on hand each day throughout the process to monitor the work, and that the Navy has engaged local experts as well. “We’re satisfied with the steps the Navy has taken to protect citizens,” Liesch said.
A Storied Ship, and a Bigger One Than the Last
With a service record that stretches from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the war in Iraq, the Enterprise, designated CVN-65, could draw at least as much public interest as the SS United States, the historic ocean liner that became a tourist attraction after arriving on the Mobile waterfront in early 2025 and is now awaiting federal permits to be sunk as a recreational reef off the Florida coast. The carrier is substantially larger than the ocean liner — more than 100 feet longer, more than twice as wide thanks to a flight deck spanning 257 feet, and displacing well over twice the tonnage. The carrier was also 65 feet taller, though recent photos show the mast atop its superstructure has since been removed.
A New Navy Structure Overseeing the Project
The dismantlement effort now falls within a newly created Navy organizational structure. In the spring, the Department of the Navy announced it was establishing Program Acquisition Executives, or PAEs, intended to bring more direct authority and accountability to the military’s acquisition system. “PAEs will have direct authority not only for program offices but also over associated technical, contracting, and sustainment functions, providing true cradle-to-grave control to deliver fully integrated capability,” a Navy official said in a March press release announcing the change. “We are moving from a compliance-based bureaucracy to having outcome-focused organizations, fundamentally changing how we do business.”
The disposal of aircraft carriers now falls under PAE Maritime, which oversees delivery of surface ships to the Navy. Asked this week about plans to move the former Enterprise, the public affairs office for PAE Maritime said only that “a tow date is yet to be determined.”
Chamber Opposition Gives Way After Contract Is Reawarded
The plan to dismantle the carrier in Mobile initially drew opposition from the Mobile Chamber’s board of directors, which in 2024 issued a statement warning that a large-scale dismantlement operation could undercut the progress represented by a new civic center, a new Interstate 10 bridge, the Bayway and other downtown developments. “We believe this particular operation is incompatible with our vision for a dynamic and sustainable downtown,” the Chamber said at the time.
After the disputed contract was reawarded to NorthStar in July, the Chamber signaled it would no longer contest the project. “The Mobile Chamber raised questions earlier in this process on behalf of our members,” said Mobile Chamber President and CEO Bradley Byrne. “That process has now concluded, and the contract has been awarded. Our role going forward is the same one we have played for 190 years, supporting a strong and diverse regional economy and working with industry, local officials and our state and federal partners to make sure Mobile continues to grow.”
NorthStar, for its part, said it was looking forward to the work. “Our team is excited to support the Navy in fulfilling its mission to dismantle the Ex-Enterprise safely, efficiently, cost-effectively, and in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Jeff Adix, CEO of NorthStar Group Services. “Through our work, we will build on Mobile’s long tradition of supporting our armed forces and hosting a highly-skilled maritime workforce.”
“The Navy’s recent award decision affirms that our team has the right combination of decades’-long experience in nuclear decommissioning and maritime recycling needed for the Ex-Enterprise project,” said NorthStar Executive Chairman Scott State, adding that the company has been working to build relationships with the local community since the initial award decision. “We look forward to continuing cooperation with all stakeholders to ensure the community is informed and engaged with our team during this project,” he said.
Tons of Steel, and a Rising Price Tag
Military and industrial news outlets, including Nuclear Engineering International magazine, have reported that planners expect to recover roughly 35,000 tons of steel from the old Enterprise, some of which the Navy intends to use in the newly built carrier bearing the same name, CVN-80.
The U.S. Naval Institute News reported this week that the overall cost of scrapping the ship has climbed to $1.3 billion. That figure is likely a preview of costs to come across the fleet: the USS Nimitz, the namesake of a class of 10 aircraft carriers, is due to leave active service in 2027, and a $96 million contract awarded in March marks only the beginning of the bills tied to its eventual disposal.