Ex-USS Enterprise Leaves Virginia on Final Voyage to Mobile, With Arrival Expected Around Nov. 13

MOBILE, Ala. — The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world is on its way to the Port of Mobile for the last chapter of a story that began during the Cold War.

The decommissioned hull of the former USS Enterprise departed Newport News, Virginia, on Monday morning, bound for the Modern American Recycling Services yard on the Mobile waterfront. A Navy spokesperson said its arrival “is expected to be on or around Nov. 13, 2026,” depending on weather and other factors.

NorthStar Marine Dismantlement Services, the contractor that will take the ship apart, confirmed the departure.

“I am pleased to confirm that the Ex-Enterprise has departed Newport News, Virginia as part of its final transit to the M.A.R.R.S. facility in the Port of Mobile,” NorthStar CEO Jeff Adix said in a statement. “Weather-permitting, we anticipate its arrival by November 13.”

Adix said the company’s team “has completed meticulous planning and preparation for this historic moment.”

“We have the expertise, skilled labor force, and equipment standing at the ready to begin the work promptly and to complete it safely, efficiently, and in harmony with other activities ongoing in the Port of Mobile,” he said.

The Navy’s farewell

The Navy marked the start of the voyage with a statement honoring the people who served aboard the carrier.

“Enterprise will always be remembered for her proud legacy of service, a legacy made possible by the Sailors and support personnel whose dedication kept her mission-ready,” said Kevin Cormier, the Navy’s deputy portfolio acquisition executive, maritime for aircraft carriers. “All who served aboard and sustained this historic ship should take pride in the vital role they played in supporting the fleet. Their dedication ensured that Enterprise remained a lasting example of naval excellence. Fair winds and following seas.”

More than 50 years of service

Designated CVN-65, Enterprise was launched in September 1960 and entered service in 1961. According to the Navy, it traveled more than 1 million nautical miles during a service life of more than 50 years.

Its missions stretched from the Cuban Missile Crisis through the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror. The ship was deactivated in 2012 and formally decommissioned in 2017.

The name will live on. The next Navy vessel to carry it, a Ford-class carrier designated CVN-80, will be the ninth U.S. Navy ship named Enterprise.

A long road to Mobile

The question of where and how to dispose of the ship has lingered for years, and storing and disposing of the hull has reportedly cost the Navy more than $1 billion.

In 2012, the plan was to dismantle Enterprise in Virginia or Texas. Mobile joined the shortlist in 2020 and was selected in 2025, when the Navy awarded a $537 million contract to NorthStar and its partner, Modern American Recycling and Radiological Services.

That award was appealed in part because a computer problem blocked at least one competitor’s entry in the bidding process. The Navy reopened the competition, and NorthStar won again in July 2026 with a bid of about $419 million.

What dismantling involves

The carrier’s nuclear fuel has been removed, a process completed by 2017, although its reactors must still be dismantled and disposed of. Navy documents indicate the vessel could contain more than 8,000 tons of hazardous or radioactive waste.

In its 2026 contract award, the Navy said the ship “will be dismantled in its entirety, and all resulting materials will be properly recycled or disposed of.” It said hazardous materials, including low-level radioactive waste, “will be packaged and safely transported for disposal at authorized licensed sites.”

Under the plan, crews will recycle the ship’s metal parts and transport parts with low levels of radioactivity to disposal sites outside Mobile. A 2023 environmental impact statement said the health and safety issues associated with the dismantling “would be small,” even though the ship ran on nuclear power.

The work will be performed in Mobile and is expected to be completed by September 2030, according to the Navy.

One historic ship arrives as another departs

Enterprise’s arrival is expected to come just days after another famous vessel leaves the same stretch of the Mobile River. The SS United States, which has been docked at the Modern American Recycling Services yard since March 2025, is expected to leave Mobile on Monday, Nov. 9, under a Coast Guard safety zone.

The ocean liner is scheduled to be sunk Thursday, Nov. 12, about 22 nautical miles off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, where Okaloosa County plans to make it the world’s largest artificial reef.

Both dates remain subject to weather and other conditions.