USS Kitty Hawk being towed to scrap yard

[Tahuyaman]

I was watching the USS Kitty Hawk being towed out of Bremerton the other day. It was sold to a Texas scrap yard for one cent and is being towed around the tip of South America to Texas. It's too large to gomthroughnthego Panama Canal. That has to be a real stressful operation on the tug boat crews conducting this.


The Kitty Hawk once was involved in a collision with a Soviet submarine in the Sea of Japan during Team Spirit. The Soviet sub was at fault. I knew a sailor on the Kitty Hawk when they had a race riot on the ship. Sailors from other ships refered to the carrier as The African Queen.

[Tahuyaman]

Its awesome to watch these ships go to and from Bremerton. They need to navigate a couple of miles through a narrow and winding channel called Rich Passage between Bremerton and Seattle. One slight mistake would result in the ship running aground.

[Abby08]

It sold for one cent?

Can it no longer go under its own power, it has to be towed?

Has it been gutted ? Or is it still fully intact?

Seems a shame.

[Tahuyaman]

It sold for one cent?

Can it no longer go under its own power, it has to be towed?

Has it been gutted ? Or is it still fully intact?

Seems a shame.

Yes, the Navy sold it for one cent. Evidently it could not move under its own power. It had been in the inactive ship area in Bremerton for several years. It looked to be in sorry condition.

[Dr. Who]

It sold for one cent?

Can it no longer go under its own power, it has to be towed?

Has it been gutted ? Or is it still fully intact?

Seems a shame.

She was commissioned in 1961 and decommissioned in 2009. That makes her just over 60 years old. No doubt sitting for 13 years probably seized up the engines.

[stjames1_53]

She was commissioned in 1961 and decommissioned in 2009. That makes her just over 60 years old. No doubt sitting for 13 years probably seized up the engines.

I have served on an aircraft carrier. Those "engines" don't quite work that way
All of the shaft bearings are sealed units.
The steam turbines are leased and returned when the ship is no longer in service. On the USS Ranger CVA-61 we had Westinghouse steam turbines the size of small houses. Westinghouse's name is all over them.
If you can get a tour on an aircraft carrier, you would realize your assumption is way wrong.
Those shafts do not seize up from just sitting. And neither do the turbines.
It takes a lot of fuel just to get the engines up and running. Towing uses about 1/4 of fuel required to move a carrier on its own power.
You are no maritime expert.

[Dr. Who]

I have served on an aircraft carrier. Those "engines" don't quite work that way
All of the shaft bearings are sealed units.
The steam turbines are leased and returned when the ship is no longer in service. On the USS Ranger CVA-61. we had Westinghouse steam turbines the size of small houses. Westinghouse's name is all over them.
If you can get a tour on an aircraft carrier, you would realize your assumption is way wrong.
Those shafts do not seize up from just sitting.

I defer to your specialized knowledge, but there is some reason why she can't move under her own power. Perhaps the boilers are no longer functional.

[DGUtley]

Job well done.

[stjames1_53]

I defer to your specialized knowledge, but there is some reason why she can't move under her own power. Perhaps the boilers are no longer functional.

Towing is cheaper. A lot cheaper.
The boilers are still functioning if they have electricity while unhooked post-port.
She's just old and inefficient.

[Dr. Who]

Towing is cheaper. A lot cheaper.
The boilers are still functioning if they have electricity while unhooked post-port.
She's just old and inefficient.

I hadn't considered the fact that her technology was based on a time when fuel was very cheap. I guess it's much like a 1960's car that costs a fortune to drive.