The iconic American aircraft carrier was sold for 1 cent, although another buyer was ready to give $5 million for it

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk has left for its last voyage, after which it will be dismantled for scrap. Veteran sailors are already waiting for parts of their favorite ship to start showing up on EBay. Writes about it Independent.

A conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the last of its kind, set sail from Kitsap Naval Base in Washington after the US Navy sold it to a scrap dealer for 1 cent.

Petty Officer Jason Chudy, one of the last 17 crew members to serve on a warship under the command of her last commander, Capt. bay.

“It was a very foggy day, and at some point the ship just materialized out of the fog along with the tugboats and sailed past,” Chudi said. “This day has become sad.”

Kitty Hawk, along with the aircraft carrier John F Kennedy, was sold to International Shipbreaking Limited in Texas for 1 cent. Both were launched in the 1960s and then decommissioned in 2009 and 2017, respectively.

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The deal came after the Navy rejected an offer from the USS Kitty Hawk Veterans Association to turn the ship into a museum and place it in Long Beach, California, next to the decommissioned liner Queen Mary.

The association has raised $5 million in donations for the project. This is estimated to be about half the amount needed to decontaminate, develop and maintain the ship as a museum.

Navy Information Administration spokesman Lieutenant Seth Clark said only ships awaiting decommissioning that are deemed "historically significant" are considered for donation.

But Chudi and the 1200 members of the Kitty Hawk Veterans Association were stunned by the 1-cent sale of the aircraft carrier.

“We understand that the ship has been around for a long time. It was built during the asbestos era. The amount of chemicals and fuel that is probably still on the ship is dangerous, so we understand that the Navy probably really did everything for the best, ”Chudi reasoned.

Normally, the Navy pays a scrap dealer to remove giant ships, but International Shipbreaking Limited (ISL) senior manager Chris Greene said it was financially advantageous to take two aircraft carriers with little to no payment.

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The Navy has previously paid ISL to tow and dismantle decommissioned ships, including USS Constellation and USS Independence. Green added that the USS Ranger was dismantled for next to nothing.

The contract for 1 cent reflects the sale of steel scrap, iron ore and non-ferrous metals. And more personal and valuable items may end up on EBay.

Parts of previous ships retired by International Shipbreaking have been sold on eBay, including the USS Independence Brass Switch for $151,55, the USS Halsey plate for $163,50 and the USS Ranger armor plate for $81.

“I believe a ship dismantling company will be offering ship parts for sale on eBay, so people still have the opportunity to get their last ship part before it completely disappears,” Tschudi said.

Veterans of Kitty Hawk will travel to Texas for one last look at the aircraft carrier as it calls at Port Brownsville.

“I have mixed feelings, because this was my house for three years. But now an aircraft carrier is just a giant piece of steel,” Chudi said. — They removed the big number 63 from the ship. So a lot of what made the ship that way is gone.”

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