Qatar Airways Cargo, IAG Cargo, and MASkargo have announced a bold new partnership at air cargo Europe that seeks to redefine global logistics, customer experience, and even humanitarian aid delivery through a fusion of networks, operations, and purpose-driven goals.
“This isn’t just a collaboration,” declared Mark Drusch, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo. “The three of us are the leaders in the industry. And I’m about to explain why.”
Drusch laid out the foundation of the alliance on what he called “three pillars”: a unified global network, seamless operational efficiency, and a strong philanthropic commitment.
The combined fleet of over 900 aircraft—including 30+ dedicated freighters—will cover more than 400 destinations across six key global hubs: Dublin, Heathrow, Madrid, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, and one more to be confirmed. That level of integration, Drusch emphasized, is more than logistical; it’s transformational.
“This is unparalleled,” Drusch said. “We’ve done this on the passenger side for decades. Now we’re doing it on the cargo side for the first time. With this network, a small business in Borneo can now ship to Indianapolis. That opens up global trade in a way nobody else can offer.”
The alliance unlocks up to 90,000 unique origin-and-destination pairings—routes that were previously fragmented or inaccessible.
“What does that mean?” he asked rhetorically. “It means empowering small businesses in Indonesia, Kenya, Ecuador. It means making global expansion not just possible—but practical.”
Seamless cargo, loyal ecosystem
While the scale of the network is significant, the partnership is equally focused on removing the operational friction that has long plagued the cargo world. David Shepherd, CEO of IAG Cargo, took the stage to explain how this new partnership isn’t merely a network play—it’s a customer revolution.
“Everything we do here is about the customer,” Shepherd said. “From the moment of booking through to final delivery, this alliance will offer a level of choice and ease that’s simply never been available before in the air cargo world.”
He was candid about the challenges that have historically held back cargo partnerships. “Cargo is harder to connect than passengers,” Shepherd said. “Freight doesn’t find its own way. So unless you’ve got the systems, the co-location, and the mindset to make it seamless, you get friction—and that’s where things have broken down in the past.
“Our booking platforms—whether it’s MASkargo, IAG, or Qatar—will be integrated,” he said. “A single booking will be visible and accessible across our entire network. That means real-time tracking, uniform service levels, and eventually, unified product offerings.”
A phased alignment of service products, particularly around sensitive freight like pharmaceuticals, will ensure consistency and predictability across the joint network. This level of integration, Shepherd believes, will rival what’s been accomplished in passenger alliances.
“And then there’s the loyalty program,” he added, with a confident smile. “We’re leveraging the Avios currency—one of the most powerful in aviation. Customers will earn and redeem across the entire alliance. That’s not just logistics—that’s loyalty.”
Beyond cargo
More than just delivering within the airfreight industry, the announcement reflects a shared sense of humanitarian mission.
“We’re not just delivering cargo,” said Mark Jason Thomas, CEO of MASkargo. “We’re delivering hope.”
The three carriers committed a collective 1,000 metric tons of free cargo capacity over the next three years to the World Food Program (WFP), enabling the distribution of critical food and supplies to some of the hardest-to-reach regions in the world. That includes conflict zones and disaster-struck regions where conventional supply chains fail.
“Speed, precision, and reliability are non-negotiable when lives are on the line,” Thomas emphasized. “With our combined network and capabilities, we can deliver what’s needed—when and where it’s needed most.”
Virginia Arribas, Deputy Director of Private Partnerships at the World Food Programme, echoed this sentiment in an emotional appeal that underscored the impact of logistics on human life.
“Logistics is the lifeline,” she said. “In countries like Afghanistan, Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine, this kind of support doesn’t just help. It saves lives. With this partnership, we’ll be able to reach deeper, faster, and more efficiently than ever before.
“It’s more than logistics. It’s humanity in motion.”
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Chapman Freeborn announced today the latest stage of its strategic European expansion with two key appointments.
After serving nearly sixteen years as a specialist charter broker for the business’ automotive clients, and approaching his twenty fifth year at Chapman Freeborn, Isidro Nuñez Oñate has been promoted to Senior Charter Manager, overseeing brokers in the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) region.
Experienced sales and training lead, Claire Fallon, meanwhile moves to Supplier Relations Manager – Europe, managing regional partnerships and strategies across the continent.
“In an uncertain world, now is the right time to invest in our long-term capabilities, so we can continue to deliver fast, flexible, and reliable services for our exacting clients,” said Reto Hunziker, President – Europe, Chapman Freeborn.
“With nearly four decades’ experience between them, Isidro and Claire are well positioned to lead our cargo charterers and cement our already strong relationships with carriers.
“I look forward to working with them both more closely as part of our new look team as Chapman Freeborn continues to expand its capabilities across Europe and beyond.”
This follows a broader restructure of European cargo operations by the air charterer earlier this year, in addition to the appointment of a general sales agent in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, cementing its coverage across the European Union and diversifying its sales base.
The announcement was made at Air Cargo Europe, part of transport logistic, the world’s largest exhibition for the industry, taking place from 2nd until 5th June in Munich, Germany.
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Arctic shipping in the Russian-controlled Northern Sea Route (NSR) is poised for major growth this year, with a record number of vessels applying for permits. Voyages in NSR are open in the warmer months, during the summer and autumn from July 1 to November 30, when the ice has receded or has thinned.
With navigation in the route set to open next month, the state-controlled nuclear energy firm Rosatom said that it is expecting a 50 percent rise in voyages by foreign vessels this year. Rosatom controls the Russian icebreaker fleet and is in charge of operations along the NSR.
“There is a clear upward trend in international interest in NSR. In 2025, foreign companies are expected to conduct at least 1.5 times more voyages through NSR compared to the previous year,” Rosatom told Reuters.
Rosatom added that as of May 27, 196 applications had been submitted for vessel navigation along NSR, including vessels sailing under foreign flags. The bulk of the fleet will be vessels transporting liquefied gas from the Russian Arctic gas projects such as the Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2. For the summer navigation, around 30 LNG carriers have been granted permits to transit NSR. However, there are concerns that at least five sanctioned carriers are part of this list, according to the NSR Administration registry under Rosatom.
With the West tightening economic sanctions against Russia, there has been a rise of shadow fleet exporting sanctioned Russian oil and gas to international markets. In the Baltic Sea, the shadow fleet is seen as a threat to maritime safety in the region, with several reports of sabotage operations on the undersea cable infrastructure.
The opening of the NSR in the coming weeks is likely to see some of the shadow fleet shift to the route. Russia has been marketing NSR as shorter than the Suez Canal route, reducing travel time between Europe and Asia. However, expansion of the icebreaker fleet and Arctic port infrastructure is needed to make the route competitive.
Last year, NSR hit a record cargo volume of 38 million tons, up from 35 million tons in 2023.
Indonesia is continuing its aggressive enforcement efforts to crack down on illegal fishing. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries reports in the latest effort it has impounded two Malaysian fishing vessels suspected of engaging in illegal fishing in the country’s territorial waters in the Malacca Strait.
The two vessels were interdicted by the patrol boat Hiu 6, which is based at the Belawan fisheries supervision station, North Sumatra. According to the official account, one vessel, KM SLFA 4584 had three Indonesian crewmembers and a load of around 150 kg of mixed fish. The other vessel, KM SLFA 5210 had four Indonesian crewmembers and 300 kg of mixed fish.
The authorities said that the vessels lacked permit documents from the Indonesian government. In addition, the vessels were reportedly found to be using fish trawling gear, which is prohibited in territorial waters. They alleged the vessels were using trawls that were prohibited.
“Preliminary investigations show that the Indonesian crew worked in Malaysia without following proper procedures. There is a possibility they paid bribes to cross our border and enter Malaysia illegally,” said Pung Nugroho, the ministry’s director of marine resources and fisheries monitoring.
They allege it is part of a larger, ongoing problem in the region. The crewmembers they said might have been motivated by high salaries to enter Malaysia and work on the vessels.
The seizure of the two Malaysian vessels adds to a list of other foreign fishing ships arrested this year. Between January and May, the Ministry reported that it has arrested 13 foreign fishing vessels, consisting of five from the Philippines, three from Malaysia, four from Vietnam, and one from China.
In the past decade, Indonesia has run a spirited campaign against illegal fishing within its vast waters. One of the notable moments was the highly publicized anti-IUU fishing campaign led by the former maritime and fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti. The campaign gained global attention especially after Indonesia decided to blow up and sink vessels suspected of illegal fishing. Between 2014- 2016, Indonesia reportedly blew up over 170 vessels as a warning to foreign fishing fleets engaged in illegal fishing.
While IUU fishing in Indonesia has gone down significantly, the government insists that routine patrols are essential for compliance with the fishing laws. As the world’s largest archipelago, Indonesia is prone to illegal fishing due to its vast EEZ. At the peak of illegal fishing in 2011, studies show that 20-38 percent of Indonesia’s wild seafood exports had been caught illegally by local fishers and foreign fishing fleets. Indonesia estimated that illegal fishing activities cost its economy at least $3 billion annually in lost revenue.
A team of volunteer researchers and divers working off the coast of Alaska succeeded in mapping the 1908 wreck site of Alaska’s second-worst maritime disaster (in terms of lives lost) and recovering the bell of the Star of Bengal. Built by Harland & Wolff, the shipyard famed for later building the Titanic, the vessel was lost 117 years ago located on the remote Coronation Island, approximately 80 miles west of Wrangell, Alaska.
The first successful research expedition to the wreck site was reported by Willian Urschel, the captain of the research vessel Endeavour which is operated by the nonprofit organization Alaska Endeavour. During the summer season, it is used for student expeditions while in the shoulder periods, it does professional expeditions.
The wreck of the Star of Bengal had remained a mystery. A team of divers visited the site in 2022 but did not manage to carry out any major surveys due to poor weather. This year, aboard Endeavour, the team returned to the site and during a 10-day period managed to locate and document the hull frames and plates, four anchors, the windlass, and other machinery. They also located and raised the ship’s bronze bell.
The ship which was 1,694 tons had been built in 1874 in Belfast, Ireland for the British trading company JP Corry & Co. as a 264-foot iron three-masted merchant sailing vessel. She was acquired by the Alaska Packers Association in 1906 and would become a workhorse for the association transporting cannery workers and supplies to Wrangell, Alaska in the spring and bringing the workers and canned salmon back to San Francisco in autumn.
On September 20, 1908, the ship was traveling through the Sumner Strait in Alaska for its return to California for the winter. It was under tow by two small tugboats, the Kayak and the Hattie Gage when they encountered a strong storm.
Historical accounts indicate that a combination of high winds, no communication, and mechanical failures forced the tugboats to sever the tow lines. The Star of Bengal dropped anchor but the anchor dragged. The ship was broken on the rocks of Coronation Island approximately 80 miles west of Wrangle.
Aboard the ship were 138 men – 106 cannery workers and 32 crew and 2.5 million one-pound cans of salmon from the Wrangell cannery. The sinking caused the deaths of 110 of the people on board including 96 of the canary workers. The majority of deaths were Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino laborers.
The bell was recovered as a memorial to the ship and has been sent for conservation at the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University. It is expected to return to Wrangell where it will go on display at the Wrangell History Museum. The wreck of Star of Bengal will also be nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
cargo.one unveiled brand new functionality that enhances the speed and convenience of air freight quoting and booking for Descartes’ transportation management system (TMS) users worldwide.
Descartes’ TMS now includes the cargo.one Air Freight Integration Module, allowing freight forwarders to, within a few clicks, search, compare, quote and book capacity with cargo.one directly from Descartes’ TMS. Air freight booking details are automatically uploaded into the freight forwarder’s Descartes solution, removing the need for manual data entry and making shipment management and tracking easier and faster.
As the go-to air freight procurement platform for forwarders, available in 134 countries, cargo.one connects over 25,000 forwarders to rate providers including over 65 airlines and popular general sales and service agents (GSSAs). Booking capacity with cargo.one offers forwarders more breadth and depth of supply options than any other platform. Descartes TMS users now also benefit from cargo.one’s industry-renowned rate offer quality, its seamless user experience, and exceptional customer support.
Accessing cargo.one’s global airline integrations directly from Descartes’ TMS delivers forwarders a substantial set of benefits – including a real-time/on demand, comprehensive overview of relevant and competitive rates, simplified data handling, increased accuracy and greatly reduced manual data entry. The impact is a stronger capability to win shipments faster and serve customers better.
Kenneth Wood, Executive Vice President of Product Management at Descartes, commented, “Integrating cargo.one’s global carrier connectivity within our TMS helps customers gain ground in delivery performance, differentiate themselves from competitors, and grow their revenue. Descartes TMS and cargo.one functionality working in unison is enhancing user experiences and helping forwarders to do their best work.”
Moritz Claussen, Founder & Co-CEO of cargo.one, added, “Building advanced solutions with TMS leaders like Descartes is an important way for cargo.one to further contribute to a more connected supply chain. By leveraging cargo.one directly within their familiar Descartes TMS, forwarders will enjoy powerful operational and business benefits, combined with simplicity and convenience.”
Available now, customers of Descartes’ TMS can procure air freight rates on demand via cargo.one. Descartes users also have the option to upgrade to cargo.one pro, which includes additional tools to further win and manage shipments.
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The international effort to maintain security in the Arabian Sea is reporting another significant drug seizure again aided using new technology. Last week, the UK Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster, which was part of a CTF 150 routine patrol in the North Arabian Sea, identified a suspicious small cargo dhow transiting the area.
The British frigate reports it secretly shadowed the suspect through the Arabian Sea for more than 24 hours. As part of the operation, it deployed for the second time the Royal Navy’s new Peregrine drones. The command of the Lancaster describes them as “mini helicopters which conduct reconnaissance stories for hours and feed live information to the vessel’s operation room.” The same vessel highlighted in March that it had used the system for the first time during a drug seizure.
After further monitoring of the dhow using a drone, the Royal Marines went into action. A boarding team of 42 commandos was embarked into two sea boats and in what the command called “a pincer movement,” the dhow was interested. Overhead, Royal Marine snipers were monitoring the operation from the frigate’s Wildcat helicopter.
“This is another example of where Lancaster has delivered at range, in isolation, utilizing her own organic assets,” reported Commanding Officer Commander Chris Chew. “Whether they come in the form of her Wildcat, our uncrewed air system Peregrine, embarked intelligence team, or her Royal Marine Boarding Team, they delivered on operations in support of the Combined Maritime Forces and New Zealand-led Combined Task Force 150.”
Searching the suspect vessel, the team found 50 packages containing one ton of heroin, 55 packages containing 660kg of hashish, and 6 kg of amphetamine tablets. The drugs are estimated to have a street value of over $36 million.
“This is the largest value in narcotics interdiction we have made under our New Zealand command this year,” said Royal New Zealand Commodore, Rodger Ward, who is also the Commander of CTF 150. New Zealand took over the command of CTF 150 from the Pakistan Navy in January as part of the rotating command.
While it was the second time in two months that Lancaster has interdicted high-value drug trafficking in the Arabian Sea, last week was far larger than the previous one. In March, the frigate seized heroin and amphetamine valued at more than $6 million from a dhow.
CTF 150 was established in 2002 as one of the five operational task forces under the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). The CMF operation is reported to be the world’s largest international maritime partnership. It involves 46 nations.
Since July 2024, ships working in support of CTF 150 have carried out at least five successful interdictions against cases of drug smuggling in the Arabian Sea. In the recent past, the waters of the Arabian Peninsula have become synonymous with drug trafficking, with CTF 150 confiscating over $1 billion worth of illicit narcotics since 2021.
A new era in cross-continental freight logistics may be on the horizon with the announcement of a proposed strategic alliance between IndiGo, Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic. As global air cargo infrastructure braces for post-pandemic recalibration, this four-carrier coalition positions itself as a transatlantic and trans-Eurasian bridge, linking India’s expanding trade and air logistics ambitions with Europe and North America’s mature markets.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in New Delhi on 1 June 2025, outlines a multiphase strategy designed to enhance network connectivity, operational synergies, cargo interoperability, and eventually, regulatory harmonisation across key aviation corridors.
Network Strategy and Air Cargo Throughput Expansion
India’s air cargo industry, which handled 3.4 million tonnes in FY 2023–24, is projected to reach over 10 million tonnes by 2030 under the National Air Cargo Policy. To meet this ambition, stakeholders must rethink connectivity as a composite of route diversification, bellyhold capacity expansion, and strategic aircraft deployment. This partnership, with IndiGo’s rapidly expanding widebody fleet—including six wet-leased Boeing 787s and 30 incoming Airbus A350-900s—offers a structural platform to reallocate capacity along high-yield lanes such as Mumbai–Amsterdam, Delhi–Atlanta, and Hyderabad–Manchester.
Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM, described India as a “strategic market” with long-term growth potential. This is echoed by Delta, which is planning to relaunch its direct Atlanta–Delhi service pending regulatory approval, potentially reactivating a critical trade link for pharmaceuticals, perishables, and e-commerce shipments.
From a connectivity standpoint, this arrangement broadens intercontinental cargo options without requiring immediate infrastructure duplication. Virgin Atlantic’s CEO Shai Weiss framed the agreement as a “network logic” that aligns route architecture with growth projections across four of the world’s largest economies.
Regulatory and Legal Dimensions: From MoU to Market Implementation
While the MoU does not yet constitute a formal joint venture, its breadth—spanning cargo, commercial sales, loyalty, and maintenance—suggests that the carriers are laying groundwork for deeper operational integration. Such a development would likely trigger regulatory scrutiny under the EU’s antitrust frameworks and India’s Competition Act, particularly concerning market share concentration and interline pricing practices.
Further legal complexity arises from the cross-jurisdictional nature of the alliance. Bilateral Air Services Agreements (ASAs) between India and the EU/US currently limit cooperative provisions on capacity and pricing unless superseded by open skies provisions or government-sanctioned antitrust immunity. It remains to be seen whether this partnership will seek such exemptions, particularly in light of heightened scrutiny over airline consolidation in global markets.
Digital Integration and Trade Facilitation
For air cargo professionals, the partnership’s proposed digital collaboration could be its most transformative aspect. The group has committed to integrating technologies that enhance cargo tracking, harmonise e-Air Waybills (e-AWB), and streamline customs interactions across jurisdictions.
According to aviation tech analysts, if the alliance successfully integrates with India’s Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP)—which connects 160+ logistics databases—the four-carrier bloc could become a testbed for AI-assisted booking, digital documentation clearance, and predictive routing based on cargo type and customs flow analytics.
Paul Cheetham, IATA Cargo Commissioner for Area 3, noted that such collaborations “need to ensure not just system compatibility, but also mutual recognition of digital standards and transaction-level trust.”
If implemented effectively, this digital backbone could reduce cargo dwell times at major Indian airports by 20–30%, in line with global benchmarks set under WCO’s Single Window and IATA’s ONE Record initiatives.
ESG Priorities and Carbon Compliance Alignment
Environmental sustainability—often an afterthought in legacy airline alliances—is explicitly included within the scope of this agreement. Delta and Air France-KLM already have SAF procurement targets, and Virgin Atlantic participates in the UK’s Jet Zero Council. IndiGo’s future Airbus A350 fleet, expected to deliver 25% fuel efficiency gains over previous-generation aircraft, signals an intention to align with these standards.
However, achieving true carbon compliance will require more than aircraft upgrades. It demands lifecycle emissions reporting, ground handling decarbonisation, and green corridor mapping. Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, hinted at such ambitions, stating the alliance will “exchange best practices in operational excellence and service delivery.”
For India, which must align its exports with emerging EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM) and other ESG-linked trade instruments, integrating green logistics into air cargo corridors could be an economic differentiator.
Strategic and Trade Implications
Trade analysts view this alliance as a geopolitical and economic signal that India is repositioning itself as a multimodal logistics hub bridging the Global North and South. The potential to link emerging export centres like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Coimbatore with secondary cargo gateways in Europe and North America could decentralise freight distribution, reduce hub congestion, and optimise lead times for high-value commodities.
Moreover, with India negotiating Digital Economy Agreements and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with key partners, this partnership could serve as an early mover in operationalising these frameworks through multimodal logistics implementation.
The MoU also includes scope for knowledge-sharing in maintenance, training, and ground handling—areas where Indian carriers could benefit from transatlantic standardisation, potentially improving IATA safety audit (IOSA) outcomes and reliability benchmarks.
A Prototype for Future Alliances?
While formalisation of the alliance will depend on regulatory clearance and technical integration timelines, its strategic intent is clear. As air cargo moves toward data-driven, climate-conscious, digitally governed operations, alliances of this scope and architecture may become the industry standard rather than the exception.
For air cargo policy professionals, this development underscores a shift in strategic priorities: from capacity expansion to corridor optimisation, from bilateralism to multilateral digital governance, and from transactional alliances to transformational ones.
If executed with rigour, the IndiGo–Delta–Air France-KLM–Virgin Atlantic alliance could serve as a model for how global air cargo corridors will be constructed—not just for the movement of goods, but for the movement of regulatory certainty, digital transparency, and sustainable competitiveness.
The post Forging the Transcontinental Air Cargo Corridor appeared first on Air Cargo Week.
The Swedish government announced starting July 1 it will be enforcing new rules on ships that pass through Swedish territorial waters or the economic zone – not just those that call at a port. It joins others including Estonia, Finland, and the European Union which also introduced new monitoring efforts including checking insurance documentation for vessels sailing through the Baltic.
“We see more and more problematic events in the Baltic Sea and it requires that we not only hope for the best, but also plan for the worst,” said Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, in a posting on social media. “Now we have made an important decision to protect the Baltic Sea from the Russian shadow fleet… Security can’t wait.”
According to the government, the new regulation that it adopted aims to combat the shadow fleet and thereby improve maritime safety and environmental protection. The Swedish Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration are being tasked with collecting insurance information from ships that pass through Swedish territorial waters or the economic zone regardless if they are scheduled to make a port call in Sweden.
“We are now increasing surveillance in the Baltic Sea,” said Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer. He pointed to the shadow fleet circumventing international rules and threatening safety.
Sweden’s action follows the European Commission which in April adopted a requirement that all vessels, including those merely passing through EU waters without entering an EU port, provide insurance information.
Efforts to check documentation and insurance information have led to increased tensions in the Baltic. Estonia’s effort at stopping a tanker it suspected of operating without a legitimate registry led to a brief showdown that included a Russian warplane making an unauthorized entry into Estonian airspace. Similarly, Finland has recently reported that a Russian warplane entered its airspace while Finland’s Defense Minister said the country would continue its efforts to monitor the movement of shadow fleet tankers in the Gulf of Finland.
The EU in particular has continued to apply pressure on the shadow fleet. It has now sanctioned over 300 tankers while there has been talk of further actions aimed at Russia’s oil trade.
Russia’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia referred to the actions as “Baltic pirates” and their EU “cheerleaders,” during a speech to the UN Security Council. He said the “inappropriate behavior of EU countries sets a very dangerous precedent.”
The Russian Navy has reportedly begun escorting some shadow fleet tankers on their passage away from the oil terminals and into the Baltic.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on Friday, May 30, that the dismantling contract for ex-USS Enterprise has been awarded. It marks the official end to the process that began several years ago after the first U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 2017 and the debate began on her final fate.
Included in the listing of contracts finalized by the Department of Defense is the awarding of $536 million in a fixed-price contract to NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services for the dismantling, recycling, and disposal of ex-Enterprise. It is a Mobile, Alabama-based partnership between NorthStar Group Services and Modern American Recycling and Radiological Services announced in November 2024 as one of the bidders for the contract. The other competitors were in Newport News, Virginia, and Brownsville, Texas with it noted that only Brownsville had a ship-recycling specialist experienced in disposing of U.S. Navy’s conventional aircraft carriers. The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy arrived in Brownsville on February 2, 2025, for dismantling after being towed from Philadelphia.
Enterprise was present at some of the most important moments in modern U.S. Navy history (USN)
DoD reports that Enterprise “will be dismantled in its entirety, and all resulting materials will be properly recycled or disposed of. Specifically, hazardous materials, including low-level radioactive waste, will be packaged and safely transported for disposal at authorized licensed sites.”
The process of disposing of the carrier began in 2022 with the Navy releasing a report that explored the options including continuing to hold the vessel in lay-up or dismantling. The following year, the Navy confirmed that it preferred to dismantle the carrier using a commercial facility so as not to lose precious space and capacity in its own shipyards.
Enterprise‘s nuclear reactors have been defueled, but there are still “legacy radiological and hazardous wastes” on board the Navy concluded in its analysis. During the dismantling process, the hazardous components will be separated and properly contained for shipment to a storage site. North Star will be responsible for dismantling the other sections of the ship. DoD reports the work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by November 2029.
It will be an economic boost for Mobile. The city is already reporting a mini-surge in tourism after the liner ss United States arrived at the MARS facility. The liner is being prepared in Mobile for a planned reefing. The Mobile Chamber of Commerce last year said it opposed dismantling the carrier in the area fearing the potential of a mishap or contamination.
USS Enterprise with nuclear-powered escorts USS Long Beach and Bainbridge, the world’s first all-nuclear task force (June 1964, USN)
Known by her nickname “Big E,” the carrier was a symbol of the United States’ naval power. She remains the longest naval vessel ever constructed, though she is outranked by the Nimitz and Ford-class carriers when measured by displacement. She has a length of 1,123 feet (342 meters) at the flight deck and has a displacement of approximately 94,000 tons. Enterprise had an acknowledged top speed of over 30 knots, although it was rumored she could operate at much faster speeds.
Big E was present at some of the most important moments in modern U.S. Navy history, including the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis; aerial combat and bombardment missions during the Vietnam War; the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy during the fall of Saigon; the bombing of Al Qaeda and Taliban installations after 9/11; and duty in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She also participated in the early space program tracking John Glenn’s orbit of the Earth in the Friendship 7 capsule.
She was commissioned in 1961 and was to have been part of a class of nuclear carriers. Instead, the Navy learned from her and went on to build the Nimitz class, which remains the hallmark of the nuclear navy. Enterprise served with distinction through the 1960s before a fire in 1969 and an overhaul in the early 1970s. She received life extension refits in the 1990s and in 2008 which lasted till 2010. She began her final deployment in March 2012 and was officially listed as deactivated in December 2012.
Deactivated in 2012, Enterprise is seen here in her 2013 move into lay-up in Newport News, Virginia (USN)
Settling the disposal of the ship took on greater importance as the Navy now looks to the deactivation of the first Nimitz class carriers in the coming years. Enterprise is to provide a model for the Navy as it moves forward into the Ford class. The legacy of Big E will be celebrated as about 14 tons of steel salvaged from CVN-65 will be incorporated into CNV-80, the third Ford-class carrier which fittingly will be the next USS Enterprise.
