Navy Sends Nuclear Carrier Enterprise to Mobile
NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services will take apart the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier under a $418.5 million Navy contract.
Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Nuclear
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The retired USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, left Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia under tow on November 2 and is scheduled to arrive in Mobile, Alabama, for dismantling. NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services holds a $418.5 million Navy contract to take the 1,123-foot carrier apart.
Why it matters
The project brings a large nuclear-vessel decommissioning job to Mobile and requires hazardous and low-level radioactive waste to be shipped to licensed disposal sites. The work follows a legal dispute between NorthStar and HII over who would handle the disposal.
USS Enterprise ran on eight nuclear reactors, all defueled by 2017, and covered more than 1 million nautical miles under nuclear power before retirement. A Coast Guard 500-yard Naval Vessel Protection Zone requires boats to stay at least 100 yards from the hull.
The players
NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services
NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services is a company contracted by the U.S. Navy to dismantle decommissioned naval vessels.
U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is the maritime military service responsible for safety and security in U.S. waters, and it established the temporary safety zones for the carrier's arrival.
The details
The U.S. Coast Guard published a final rule on November 12 creating two temporary safety zones: one closing the shipping channel from the Mobile Bar entrance to the Cochrane Bridge, and another surrounding the hull at its berth at 701 South Royal Street on the Mobile River.
Timeline
November 2: USS Enterprise left Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia under tow.
November 11: Expected arrival date cited in an Army Corps bulletin.
November 12: Coast Guard published its final rule for the safety zones.
September 2030: Deadline to complete the dismantling contract.
Legacy Timeline
The Enterprise dismantling follows the 2017 defueling of its eight nuclear reactors, moving the retired ship from reactor removal to the final disposal of its hull and radioactive waste.
Boaters and commercial traffic in Mobile Bay and the Mobile River will face closures in the shipping channel and must keep outside the 100-yard protection zone around the carrier. Residents near the South Royal Street berth should expect the zone to stay in place for years as dismantling proceeds.
The takeaway
Mobile residents and mariners should check current Coast Guard notices before traveling the Mobile Bar-to-Cochrane Bridge channel, since the safety zone is expected to persist for several years. The project shows how retired nuclear vessels are dismantled in stages, with radioactive waste routed to licensed sites.
What happens next
The second safety zone could remain in force until around May 2030, and the dismantling is expected to reach a safe stage by that time.
Further reading
For background on reactor-powered vessels and waste handling, see Nuclear coverage from Mobile readers' home section.
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