Sam LaGrone – November 2, 2026 11:32 AM – Updated: November 2, 2026 3:58 PM
The hulk of former nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was towed from a pier at Newport News Shipbuilding on Monday, almost 15 years after its final deployment, USNI News has learned.
“Ex-Enterprise began its final transit this morning, departing Newport News Shipbuilding for Mobile, Alabama, where the ship will be dismantled,” reads a Monday statement from PAE Maritime.
The remnant “Big E” is now in route to Mobile, Ala., after a court battle between environmental disposal contractor NorthStar and HII over which company would oversee the final disposal. Last month, HII dropped a legal challenge on the Navy’s decision to award NorthStar $418 million for the disposal work.
“We’re creating a blueprint for the Navy on how to dispose of [carriers],” PMS 386 commander of the Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier Inactivation and Disposal Program Office (PMS 368) Capt. William Cleveland said in a 2024 statement. “It’s exciting work that will shape standards across the Navy’s nuclear enterprise.”
HII was responsible for the initial inactivation and defueling of the carrier until this year’s award. Removing the remaining reactors, disposing of the radioactive materials and dismantling the ship will be a major challenge due to the eight of reactors aboard. In contrast, the Nimitz and Ford-class carriers each have two.
“For submarines, you remove the reactor compartment as an entire section and ship it off to a disposal site,” Naval analyst Bryan Clark told USNI News in July. “That’s difficult enough, but it’s straightforward. Here, the reactor compartment is too big, so you have to disassemble the hull itself.”
Up until now, HII was the primary contractor responsible for defueling the 94,000-ton carrier before NorthStar won the contract in July.
The Navy has spent about $1.3 billion on the total inactivation of Enterprise, USNI News reported earlier this year.
HII referred comment on the hulk’s move to the Navy.
Sam LaGrone
Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, the Canadian Navy, the French Navy and the Spanish Armada.
Email: slagrone@usni.org
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