USS Gerald R. Ford Faces Daily Toilet Crisis Despite $13 Billion Price Tag
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai: A costly and persistent plumbing problem is haunting the US’ newest and most expensive aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, even as it deploys towards Iran. Newly obtained documents reveal mounting frustration among the crew over repeated failures in the ship’s toilet system, a problem that has persisted since the carrier’s first deployment in 2023, NPR reports. Such is the dire situation that the shortage of toilets has led to queues of up to 45 minutes daily.
Frequent tussles between sailors and hull technicians, responsible for plumbing and repair operations, have complicated matters. Technicians are working 19 hours a day to clear the mess. The Ford-class carrier ($13 billion warship), the most expensive ship ever built by the US Navy, has been deployed for seven months, since June.
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Donald Trump's State Of The Union Address: 'America Is Back, Bigger, Richer, Stronger & Better,' Says US PresidentThe USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 2017 at a cost of about $13 billion, has faced repeated failures in its vacuum-based sewage system during an extended deployment near the Middle East, where it was positioned to bolster… pic.twitter.com/W3fblrvoiJ
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But on board the vessel, which carries about 4,600 sailors, the crew is grappling with a sewage system that has been breaking down with striking frequency. A Navy official said the system, which uses vacuum technology to transport waste from roughly 650 toilets on board, has experienced issues during the deployment, averaging about one maintenance call a day.
One sailor on board the Ford told The Wall Street Journal that many crew members are angry and upset, with some saying they want to leave the Navy at the end of the deployment. NPR first reported in January that a number of toilets on the Ford were out of commission. The problem basically stems from a key engineering defect.
Trump's State Of the Union Address: US President Hails 'Turnaround For Ages' In One Year Of His LeadershipDespite having all state-of-the-art facilities, the warship relies on a fragile vacuum-based sewage system. It basically means that a single valve failure can disable all toilets in an entire department. NPR reported that according to an undated Navy document obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, “Every day that the entire crew is present on the ship, a trouble call has been made for the ship’s force personnel to repair or unclog a portion of the VCHT system, since June 2023.”