Ship-Submarine Recycling Program


The Ship/Submarine Recycling Program is the process that the United States Navy uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels. SRP takes place only at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, but the preparations can begin elsewhere.

Program overview

Defueling and decommissioning

Before SRP can begin, the vessel's nuclear fuel must be removed, and defueling usually coincides with decommissioning. Until the fuel is removed, the vessel is referred to as "USS Name," but afterward the "USS" is dropped and it is referred to as "ex-Name." Reusable equipment is removed at the same time as the fuel.

Spent fuel storage

Spent nuclear fuel is shipped by rail to the Naval Reactor Facility in the Idaho National Laboratory, located northwest of Idaho Falls, Idaho, where it is stored in special canisters.

Hull salvage

At PSNS the SRP proper begins. The salvage workers cut the submarine into three or four pieces: the aft section, the reactor compartment, the missile compartment if one exists, and the forward section. Missile compartments are dismantled according to the provisions of the Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty.
Until 1991, the forward and aft sections of the submarines were rejoined and placed in floating storage. Various proposals for disposal of those hulls were considered, including sinking them at sea, but none was economically practical. Some submarines built prior to the 1978 banning of polychlorinated biphenyl products had the chemicals on board, which are considered hazardous materials by the Environmental Protection Agency and United States Coast Guard, requiring their removal. Since then, and to help reduce costs, the remaining submarine sections are recycled, returning reusable materials to production. In the process of submarine recycling, all hazardous and toxic wastes are identified and removed, reusable equipment is removed and put into inventory. Scrap metals and all other materials are sold to private companies or reused. The overall process is not profitable, but does provide some cost relief. Disposal of submarines by the SRP costs the Navy US$25–50 million per submarine.

Reactor vessel disposal

Once the de-fueled reactor compartment is removed, it is sealed at both ends and shipped by barge and multiple-wheel high-capacity trailers to the Department of Energy's Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, where they are currently,, kept in open dry storage and slated to be eventually buried. Russian submarine reactor compartments are stored in similar fashion near Murmansk.The burial trenches have been evaluated to be secure for at least 600 years before the first pinhole penetration of some lead containment areas of the reactor compartment packages occurs, and several thousand years before leakage becomes possible.

Prior disposal methods

In 1959 the US Navy removed a nuclear reactor from the submarine and replaced it with a new type. The removed reactor was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean, east of Delaware, at a depth of.
In 1972, the London Dumping Convention restricted ocean disposal of radioactive waste and in 1993, ocean disposal of radioactive waste was completely banned. The US Navy began a study on scrapping nuclear submarines; two years later shallow land burial of reactor compartments was selected as the most suitable option.
In 1990, was the first US nuclear-powered submarine to be scrapped.

Future salvage work

By the end of 2005, 195 nuclear submarines had been ordered or built in the US. The last of the regular attack boats,, was decommissioned in 2001, and, a highly modified Sturgeon, was decommissioned in 2004. The last of the initial "41 for Freedom" fleet ballistic missile submarines,, was decommissioned in 2002. Decommissioning of the boats began in 1995 with. Additionally, a handful of nuclear-powered cruisers have entered the program, and their dismantling is ongoing. The first aircraft carrier due for decommissioning that would enter the SRP is planned to be, which was withdrawn in 2013. Hulls waiting or already processed by the recycling program are listed below.

Lists of vessels by type

Cruisers

† A dagger after a completion date indicates that portions of the hull were preserved as memorials. See the individual articles for details.
ex-Long Beach has been partially dismantled and remains moored in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 2018.

Attack submarines

Some of these submarines were fleet ballistic missile boats for the vast majority of their careers. However, they were briefly converted to SSNs before decommissioning and arrival at PSNS, and so are listed under that designation here.
Ship name Start dateCompletion date/status
ex-Seawolf 1 October 199630 September 1997
ex-Skate 14 April 19946 March 1995
ex-Swordfish Unknown11 September 1995
ex-Sargo 14 April 19945 April 1995
ex-Seadragon 1 October 199418 September 1995
ex-Skipjack 17 March 19961 September 1998
ex-Triton 1 October 200730 November 2009
ex-Halibut 12 July 19939 September 1994
ex-Scamp 19909 September 1994
ex-Sculpin 1 October 200030 October 2001
ex-Shark 1 October 199528 June 1996
ex-Snook 1 October 199630 June 1997
ex-Permit 30 September 199120 May 1993
ex-Plunger 5 January 19958 March 1996
ex-Barb Unknown14 March 1996
ex-Tullibee 5 January 19951 April 1996
ex-George Washington Unknown30 September 1998†
ex-Patrick Henry 1 October 199631 August 1997
ex-Robert E. Lee Unknown30 September 1991
ex-Pollack 9 February 199317 February 1995
ex-Haddo Unknown30 June 1992
ex-Jack Unknown30 June 1992
ex-Tinosa 15 July 199126 June 1992
ex-Dace Unknown1 January 1997
ex-Ethan Allen Unknown30 July 1999
ex-Sam Houston 1 March 19913 February 1992
ex-Thomas A. Edison 1 October 19961 December 1997
ex-John Marshall 22 July 199229 March 1993
ex-Guardfish Unknown9 July 1992
ex-Flasher Unknown11 May 1994
ex-Greenling 30 September 199318 April 1994
ex-Gato Unknown1 November 1996
ex-Haddock 1 October 20001 October 2001
ex-Sturgeon Unknown11 December 1995 †
ex-Whale 20 October 19951 July 1996
ex-Tautog 15 March 200330 September 2004
ex-Kamehameha 1 October 200128 February 2003
ex-James K. Polk 16 February 199915 July 2000
ex-Grayling 18 July 199731 March 1998
ex-Pogy 4 January 199912 April 2000
ex-Aspro 1 October 19993 November 2000
ex-Sunfish Unknown31 October 1997
ex-Pargo 1 October 199415 October 1996
ex-Queenfish 1 May 19927 April 1993
ex-Puffer 20 October 199512 July 1996
ex-Ray 15 March 200230 July 2003
ex-Sand Lance 1 April 199830 August 1999
ex-Lapon 15 March 200330 November 2004
ex-Gurnard Unknown15 October 1996
ex-Hammerhead Unknown22 November 1995
ex-Sea Devil 1 March 19987 September 1999
ex-Guitarro Unknown18 October 1994
ex-Hawkbill 1 October 19991 December 2000 †
ex-Bergall Unknown29 September 1997
Ship name Start dateCompletion date/status
ex-Spadefish 1 October 199624 October 1997
ex-Seahorse 1 March 199530 September 1996
ex-Finback Unknown30 October 1997
ex-Narwhal 1 October 2001
ex-Pintado 1 October 199727 October 1998
ex-Flying Fish Unknown15 October 1996
ex-Trepang 4 January 19997 April 2000
ex-Bluefish 15 March 20021 November 2003
ex-Billfish Unknown26 April 2000
ex-Drum 1 December 200820 May 2010
ex-Archerfish Unknown6 November 1998
ex-Silversides 1 October 20001 October 2001
ex-William H. Bates 1 October 200230 October 2002
ex-Batfish Unknown22 November 2002
ex-Tunny 1 October 199727 October 1998
ex-Parche 30 September 2004‡30 November 2006
ex-Cavalla 1 October 199916 November 2000
ex-Glenard P. Lipscomb Unknown1 December 1997
ex-L. Mendel Rivers 29 November 200019 July 2002
ex-Richard B. Russell 1 October 200119 September 2002
ex-Los Angeles February 20115 March 2013
ex-Baton Rouge 13 January 199530 September 1997
ex-Philadelphia 1 September 2019De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Memphis 14 December 2010De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Omaha 1 October 20097 November 2011
ex-Cincinnati 1 October 200922 September 2014
ex-Groton 1 June 20125 May 2014
ex-Birmingham 1 June 201223 September 2015
ex-New York City 1 June 2011Decommissioned 30 April 1997
ex-Indianapolis 1 October 2013Recycling begun
ex-Bremerton 13 February 2014Still operational as of 23 May 2017
ex-Jacksonville 31 March 2014Still operational as of 23 May 2017
ex-Dallas 22 May 2017Arrived PSNS 22 May 2017
ex-La Jolla refit n/a
ex-Phoenix 1 June 201320 September 2016
ex-Boston 1 October 200119 September 2002 †
ex-Baltimore 1 June 2013Decommissioned 10 July 1998
ex-City of Corpus Christi 24 November 2015Being de-fueled/inactivated
ex-Albuquerque 14 April 2016De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Portsmouth 1 June 2015De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Minneapolis-St. Paul 1 June 2018De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Hyman G. Rickover 30 September 2016De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Augusta 1 September 2019De-fueled, inactivated
ex-San Francisco refit n/a
ex-Atlanta 1 October 2013Recycling begun
ex-Houston 21 September 2015Being de-fueled/inactivated
ex-Norfolk 11 December 2014De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Buffalo 26 May 2017Arrived PSNS 26 May 2017
ex-Salt Lake City 30 September 2015De-fueled, inactivated
ex-Honolulu 1 November 200620 October 2008
ex-Miami 28 March 2014De-fueled, inactivated
Ship name Start dateCompletion date/status

† A dagger after a completion date indicates that portions of the hull were preserved as memorials. See the individual articles for details.
‡ Date given for ex-Parche is official date used to secure FY2004 funding; work did not begin until 19 October.
La Jolla is currently undergoing conversion to a moored training ship at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. San Francisco will be converted after decommissioning.

Ballistic missile submarines

Some of these submarines were fleet ballistic missile boats for the vast majority of their careers. However, they were converted to SSNs for use as moored training platforms and are not currently scheduled for recycling.
Ship name Start dateCompletion date
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
ex-Theodore Roosevelt unknown24 March 1995
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
ex-Abraham Lincoln unknown5 May 1994
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
See Attack Submarines – n/an/a
ex-Lafayette 1 March 199125 February 1992
ex-Alexander Hamilton 23 February 199328 February 1994
ex-Thomas Jefferson 1 October 19966 March 1998†
ex-Andrew Jackson unknown30 August 1999
ex-John Adams unknown12 February 1996
ex-James Monroe unknown10 January 1995
ex-Nathan Hale 2 October 19915 April 1995
ex-Woodrow Wilson 26 September 199727 October 1998†
ex-Henry Clay unknown30 September 1997
ex-Daniel Webster refit n/a
ex-James Madison unknown24 October 1997
ex-Tecumseh 15 February 19931 April 1994
ex-Daniel Boone unknown4 November 1994
ex-John C. Calhoun unknown18 November 1994
ex-Ulysses S. Grant unknown23 October 1993
ex-Von Steuben 1 October 200030 October 2001
ex-Casimir Pulaski unknown21 October 1994
ex-Stonewall Jackson unknown13 October 1995
ex-Sam Rayburn refit n/a
ex-Nathanael Greene 1 September 199820 October 2000
ex-Benjamin Franklin unknown21 August 1995
ex-Simon Bolivar 1 October 19941 December 1995
ex-George Bancroft unknown30 March 1998†
ex-Lewis and Clark 1 October 199523 September 1996
ex-George C. Marshall unknown28 February 1994
ex-Henry L. Stimson unknown12 August 1994
ex-George Washington Carver unknown21 March 1994
ex-Francis Scott Key unknown1 September 1995
ex-Mariano G. Vallejo 1 October 199422 December 1995
ex-Will Rogers 12 April 199312 August 1994

† A dagger after a completion date indicates that portions of the hull were preserved as memorials. See the individual articles for details.
Because the program is underway, this list is almost certainly incomplete.
Note for ships marked with refit:
Sam Rayburn was converted into a training platform - Moored Training Ship. Sam Rayburn arrived for conversion on 1 February 1986, and on 29 July 1989 the first moored training ship achieved initial criticality. Modifications included special mooring arrangements including a mechanism to absorb power generated by the main propulsion shaft. Daniel Webster was converted to the second Moored Training Ship in 1993. The Moored Training Ship Site is located at Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Sam Rayburn is scheduled to operate as an MTS until 2014 while undergoing shipyard availabilities at four-year intervals.