Nuclear Carrier News

Flynn Refrigeration has delivered a major package of improvements to the refrigeration and air-conditioning system onboard a vessel used to transport specialist nuclear materials around the world. Working under contract to ship managers, Serco, the UK based-company completed the retrofit and conversion project on International Nuclear Services’ (INS) MV Oceanic Pintail. Managing director Alex Flynn said the extensive refrigeration and air conditioning work took 18 months to complete. MV Oceanic Pintail has carried nuclear material globally for 27 years.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has received a $745 million cost-plus-incentive fee contract for the inactivation of the aircraft carrier 'USS Enterprise' (CVN 65). The work will be done at HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. The ship was towed from Naval Station Norfolk to NNS on June 20 under the existing planning contract. NNS will defuel the eight nuclear reactors and prepare Enterprise for its eventual transit to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. The work is scheduled to complete in August 2016.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division welcomes back the carrier for inactivation. Towed from Naval Station Norfolk to the shipyard, Enterprise had more than 100 shipbuilders on board who were involved with the construction and maintenance of this first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. "Enterprise set the stage for a long and distinguished career that transformed the U.S. Navy and put Newport News Shipbuilding on the map as the birthplace for America's nuclear aircraft carriers," said NNS President Matt Mulherin.

The 51-year-old flattop’s legacy stretches back from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to Vietnam. Even before the Southeast Asia conflict, the carrier took part in the Cuban missile crisis when it was part of the blockade that forced the Soviets to remove nuclear missiles from Cuba, ending a tense standoff. The fleet’s only active vessel commissioned earlier is the museum ship USS Constitution. Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and in 1965 became the first of its kind to launch combat airstrikes, then against Vietnam.

Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $16,620,037 cost-plus-fixed fee order under previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-10-G-4314) to support nuclear carrier repair work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard during on-going availabilities. This contract is for skilled tradesmen support to two chief of naval operations carrier maintenance availabilities. Scheduled to undergo repairs include USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and is scheduled to be completed by July 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $16,620,037 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Groton, Conn., is the contracting activity.

A teenager whose appendix ruptured at sea, hundreds of miles from help, got safely to shore Tuesday after an unusual rescue in which the Navy airlifted her from a cruise ship for emergency surgery. Laura Montero, 14, fell ill aboard the Dawn Princess cruise ship off the coast of Baja California. The Bahamian-registered ship sent out a distress call Friday that was answered by the USS Ronald Reagan, which was on training maneuvers about 500 miles away. The Reagan, a nuclear carrier, was the closest ship with a hospital facility, according to a news release from the Navy. A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, which operates the Dawn Princess, said the ship's captain called the Coast Guard for help because he felt that would be faster than diverting to the nearest Mexican port.

Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter paid a special visit to USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) June 2 as part of an extended tour of naval assets in the Southeast region. The visit marked the Secretary’s first to the Mayport, Fla.-based aircraft carrier since being sworn into office Jan. “It’s a great honor and privilege to be here today,” said Winter, who is serving as the Nation’s 74th Secretary of the Navy. Addressing Kennedy’s crew from one of the ship’s two hangar bays, Winter thanked the crew for its dedicated service in the face of continued uncertainty surrounding the storied carrier’s future. He said reaching a conclusion on the matter of what to do with JFK is one of his top priorities.

I’ve been to many ship and boatbuilding facilities ... domestic and foreign; large and small; modern and antiquated. In fact, traveling to shipyards, witnessing first hand the different means incorporated to build ships and boats and meeting the people responsible, is probably the best part of my job. Naturally, I’ve seen many different types of vessels in varying degrees of build, from the largest cruise ships and LNG carriers to the smallest tugboats and water taxies. I have never ... ever ... seen anything like Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding. Though the favor is not mine to give, I invite anyone to step aboard a modern 1,092 ft., 90,000-ton nuclear aircraft carrier and afterward declare U.S. shipyards anything but master builders.