USS Forrestal Sold for 1-Cent to be Scrapped

NEWPORT, R.I. (June 15, 2010) The decommissioned aircraft carrier Ex-USS Forrestal (AVT 59) departs Naval Station Newport for a three-day cruise to Philadelphia. The first of the supercarriers, Forrestal was commissioned Sept. 29, 1955, and was in service for more than 38 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Melissa F. Weatherspoon)

For a while, there was an effort to bring the decommissioned aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal, to Tampa’s waterfront as a tourist attraction. But that effort died because it was financially unfeasible.

Photo of the fire aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CVA-59) on 29 July 1967 off Vietnam. Note the crewman on the island holding a fire hose. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Navy put the carrier up for donation 14 years ago and had no viable takers to turn it into a museum. So, the Navy put the Forrestal up for scrap.

The ship holds some major distinctions such as being the first “super-carrier” and for the deaths of 134 sailors in a horrific fire on-board during the Vietnam War.

National Public Radio reports that the “supercarrier” is being sold for just 1 cent to a ship breaker.

The ex-USS Forrestal, launched in 1954 and decommissioned in 1993, is the first of three conventional (non-nuclear) carriers due to be scrapped in the coming years. The Forrestal is best known for a devastating fire in 1967 that engulfed the ship’s flight deck, killing 134 sailors and wounding 161 others.

In a , the U.S. Navy says , which was awarded the contract for the ship, is developing a final tow plan to get the ship “from its current berth at the Navy’s inactive ship facility in Philadelphia to All Star Metals’ facility in Brownsville. The ship is expected to depart Philadelphia before the end of the year.”

The minimal payment reflects the net price proposed by All Star Metals, “which considered the estimated proceeds from the sale of the scrap metal to be generated from dismantling,” the statement said.

You can read the full NPR story here.

You can read about the Navy’s awarding of the contract to dismantle the ex-Forrestal here.