АНУ-ын тэнгисийн цэргийн хүчин “USS Enterprise” (CVN-65) хөлгийг дахин боловсруулах гэрээг “NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services” компанитай байгууллаа.
1961 онд ашиглалтад орж, Вьетнамын дайн болон Ойрх Дорнодын хэд хэдэн цэргийн ажиллагаанд оролцсон “USS Enterprise” хөлгийг 2017 оны хоёрдугаар сарын 3-нд албан ёсоор бүртгэлээс хассан юм. 95,000 тоннын даацтай энэхүү аварга хөлгийг задлах гэрээний өртөг 418.5 сая ам.доллароор үнэлэгдсэн бөгөөд уг ажиллагааг 2030 оны есдүгээр сар гэхэд дуусгахаар төлөвлөжээ.
Цөмийн хөдөлгүүртэй хөлгийг задлах нь нарийн төвөгтэй бөгөөд өндөр эрсдэлтэй ажил юм. Хөлгийн цөмийн түлшийг өмнө нь гаргаж авсан хэдий ч реакторуудад үлдсэн цацраг идэвхт үлдэгдлийг аюулгүй устгах, аюултай материалыг дахин боловсруулах нь гэрээт компанийн үндсэн үүрэг болж байна. Хөлгийн их биеийг хэсэгчлэн хайчлах замаар хоолой, цахилгааны шугам болон бусад металл эд ангиудыг бүрэн салгах юм.
“USS Enterprise” хөлгийг музей болгох боломжгүй байсан тул ийнхүү задлахаар шийдвэрлэсэн байна. Гэсэн хэдий ч хөлгийн ойролцоогоор 35,000 фунт ган төмрийг ирээдүйд ашиглалтад орох “USS Enterprise” (CVN-80) хөлгийн бүтээн байгуулалтад дахин ашиглах ажээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Some U.S. Navy ships have crossed over into popular awareness, such asUSS ConstitutionandUSS Zumwalt (DDG-1000). Another highly respected vessel the world knows by name is the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which wasthe world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Carrying the name “Enterprise” is a Navy tradition, as the USS Enterprise in question was the second aircraft carrier and eighth U.S. Navy vessel christened with the name.
CVN-65 entered active service when it was commissioned in 1961. In the decades that followed, the USS Enterprise participated in the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and numerous smaller U.S. military engagements worldwide. The USS Enterprise was deactivatedin December 2012and was decommissionedand stricken from the Naval Vessel Registeron February 3, 2017.The latter took place at the Newport News shipyard, where the 95,000-ton behemoth has been ever since, awaiting its dismantling.
The honor of that undertaking was officially granted to NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services LLCon July 15, 2026,with the contract worth $418.5 million. The long process of scrapping and recycling the USS Enterprise is expected to end in September 2030. NorthStar has a significant task to complete, as taking apart one of the U.S. Navy’s largest vessels is a highly complex process that requires proper handling, disposal, and recyclingof hazardous materials, which explains the hefty price tag American taxpayers are paying for the Enterprise’s disposal.
Scrapping a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is neither cheap nor easy
Taking apart the USS Enterprise is a long process that began with defueling. This process, which can sometimes take as long as 30 months, took placebefore NorthStar landed the contract. But while the ship’s nuclear fuel has been removed, the empty reactors remain on board;NorthStar, then, still has the arduous task of disposing of all radioactive residue.
Handling radioactive materials poses serious risks, which is one of the reasons that it took the Navy so long to determine how best to dispose of the USS Enterprise. Nearly a decade passed between the ship’s decommissioning and the award of the contract, which is largely due to the task’s complexity. NorthStar’s primary task is to cut the ship into sections so it can tackle each area and remove every element of the vessel, disposing of and recycling materials as necessary. This includes the piping, wiring, plating, and everything else in between.
While the Navy has converted some of its vessels into museum ships, the prospect of doing so for the Enterprise was likely too challenging, largely due to its reactors. While it’s true that the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-671), functions in this capacity, it’s an outlier. That said,CVN-65 will live on, in a sense, with around 35,000 pounds of its steel expected to be reused for its successor, USS Enterprise (CVN-80).
