Former HMS Illustrious Sold for Scrap
The former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious will be recycled after 32 years of service, announced the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MOD) who sold the ship to Turkish company LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd for around £2 million. The MOD’s initial plan for the retired aircraft carrier was to retain part or all of the ship in the U.K. for heritage purposes. A competition seeking bids for development plans was launched in 2013, and though a number of proposals were received, none proved to be viable.
Column: Recycling of Ships
As of July 1, 2003, there were approximately 29,000 commercial self-propelled ocean-going ships worldwide in excess of 1,000 gross tons each. Of these, just over 400 are U.S. flag. In addition, there are approximately 3,000 U.S. barges of over 1,000 gross tons each. Approximately 25% of these ships and barges are more than 20 years old and will be taken out of service in the near future. The vast majority of the ships and barges taken out of service will be recycled (scrapped). Exactly when a ship is taken out of service is dependent upon a variety of factors, the most important being its maintenance costs and its current charter rate. Thus, the number of ships being offered for recycling can and does gyrate widely over time.
Taking One for the Team
America (CVA66) on sea trials in Chesapeake Bay, 1964. The Navy plans to send one of its own – the retired aircraft carrier USS America – to the bottom of the ocean in a series of explosion tests which are designed to provide invaluable data for the construction and outfitting of the next generation of aircraft carriers, the Associated Press reported. The Navy will spend $22 million on tests that will span several weeks, starting with a tow approximately 300 miles off of the east coast, and ending with its sinking in approximately 6,000 feet of water. The tests that will be closed to the press and the public’s eyes. USS America was commissioned in 1965, decommissioned in 1996, and has spent the last nine years moored with other inactive warships at a Navy yard in Philadelphia.
