A Vernon-based subsidiary of the demolition titan NorthStar is making history as the first commercial entity to ever dismantle a nuclear aircraft carrier.
NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services received a U.S. Department of Defense contract on Friday for more than $500 million for the “dismantling, recycling, and disposal” of the USS Enterprise CVN-65 aircraft carrier, according to a department press release issued last week.
NorthStar is also in the process of dismantling the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, which once served as the state’s preeminent producer of electricity.
The USS Enterprise is slated to be the first nuclear aircraft carrier to ever be commercially dismantled, according to the The Naval Sea Systems Command. If all goes to plan, the project — which is expected to be based in Mobile, Alabama — should be finished by 2029.
The carrier made headlines in its day for being the first-ever aircraft carrier powered by nuclear energy, being propelled by eight Westinghouse A2W nuclear reactors, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.
The USS Enterprise was awarded the title of Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society in 2021. It was in use for more than 50 years, participating in military activities like Operation Desert Fox and Operation Iraqi Freedom before its deactivation in 2012.
The USS Enterprise was originally docked in Virginia before being sponsored and launched by Bertha Irene Ready, who was married to William Birrell Franke, the former secretary of the Navy under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Franke family split their time between Washington, D.C., and Rutland.
The military plans to recycle around 35,000 tons of steel from the CVN-65 Enterprise into the new CVN-80 USS Enterprise carrier, according to Naval News.
Correction: An earlier version of this story contained an error about the inspiration for the name “Enterprise” in the television show “Star Trek.”
