It\u2019s been a crappy week for the largest warship ever built.<\/p>\n
A raging fire in its laundry facilities and persistently clogged toilets have taken the $13 billion USS Ford aircraft carrier out of the Iran fight \u2014 and it could remain out of service for a year.<\/p>\n
The massive, 1,106-foot-long vessel left the Red Sea last week and has been docked in Crete for repairs since Monday, far from the air and sea attack on Iran<\/a> it had joined two weeks earlier.<\/p>\n The USS Gerald R. Ford is getting repairs in Crete after sustaining damage during a fire. It has experienced a series of issues with its sanitation system. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n Damage to laundry facilities \u2014 essential on a floating city of nearly 4,500 sailors \u2014 is severe, lawmakers told The Post.<\/p>\n It\u00a0got so bad that they were \u201ctaking helicopters to move their laundry to other ships so that it could be washed,\u201d said Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n Lawmakers said the March 12 fire impacted multiple berthing areas, an indication smoke may have coursed through the ship\u2019s massive air circulation system, fouling linens and mattresses, and making areas virtually unusable.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m told that there are 400 sailors that spent many days sleeping on the floor. It\u2019s been at sea now for almost a year, so that is an incredible stress on the whole crew,\u201d added Reed, a retired Army officer.<\/p>\n Fire isn\u2019t the only element at issue \u2014 so is water.<\/p>\n The ship\u2019s high-tech sanitation system has had problems since at least 2020, with routine clogs, pricey fixes, and a green design that has caused repeat maintenance problems costing at least $4 million. <\/p>\n The Navy has acknowledged clogs in the ship have caused difficulties. Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThose eco-friendly toilets are not pressurized in the same way \u2014 they don\u2019t flush through,\u201d naval expert Steve Wills told The Post.<\/p>\n The issues stem from its vacuum collection, holding and transfer (VCHT) system, borrowed from the cruise ship industry.<\/p>\n A General Accountability Office report from 2020 found it required \u201conerous\u201d extra day-to-day maintenance to clean its narrow pipes, with each \u201cacid flush\u201d costing $400,000. <\/p>\n Poop deck: A system of eco-toilets on the first-in-class vessel have proved problematic. A 2020 Government Accountability Office report said it costs $400,000 to conduct each \u201cacid flush\u201d of the system. Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThe Navy used a brand new toilet and sewage system . . . similar to what is on a commercial aircraft, but increased in scale for a crew of over 4,000 people,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n \u201cPrioritizing environmentally-friendly systems over combat effectiveness is a big mistake,\u201d said Bill Roggio, a senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.<\/p>\n Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wrote Navy Secretary John Phelan March 19 about the ship\u2019s \u201cpersistent sewage system failures and inoperable laundry facilities,\u201d saying he was \u201cdeeply concerned about the compounding mental and physical toll this long deployment and uncertainty is taking on our sailors.\u201d<\/p>\n The vessel\u2019s commanding officer, Capt. David Skarosi, said in February that some clogs \u201care the result of items being flushed that should not be introduced into the system\u201d \u2014 raising the prospect that the crew\u2019s action are partly to blame.<\/p>\n \u201cIt only takes one pissed off, angry sailor to potentially cause trouble,\u201d he added, without accusing anyone of outright sabotage.<\/p>\n Aircraft carriers are powerful extensions of US force, and have been likened to floating cities and floating airports. Getty Images<\/p>\n The Navy\u2019s 6th Fleet said the Ford will \u201cundergo efficient assessment, repairs, and resupply,\u201d and remains \u201cfully mission capable,\u201d but provided no timeline. <\/p>\n A probe into the fire is underway and lawmakers said investigators should also look at the impact posed by the ship\u2019s extended nine-month deployment.<\/p>\n Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said the repair stop would \u201cgive these guys a little bit of a break.\u201d<\/p>\n The ship carries more than 75 aircraft and has seen plenty of action. It set sail from Norfolk in June, returned from the Mediterranean to take part in operations in the Caribbean<\/a>, then was ordered back to the Middle East<\/a> in February before the outbreak of the war with Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spent over seven months on an aircraft carrier. You get over six months and it\u2019s a pretty stressful situation,\u201d said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired Navy captain and astronaut who flew dozens of missions during Operation Desert Storm. He said repairs could take a year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe aircraft carrier remains fully mission capable,\u201d the Navy\u2019s 6th Fleet said in a statement. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ford is the first of the class, so it\u2019s a new design. . . . the fantail of the carrier looks like some significant damage,\u201d he said of part of the ship\u2019s stern. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take some time to repair.\u201d<\/p>\n Help is on the way. The USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is heading toward the Mediterranean. There\u2019s only one problem: it shares the same new toilet and sewage system as the Ford.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a crappy week for the largest warship ever built. 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