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USS George Washington Arrives in Da Nang — Carrier Maintenance and Disposal Strains Grow

This port call highlights U.S. forward presence while shipyard bottlenecks, multi-year refueling overhauls and unresolved nuclear disposal costs are squeezing carrier readiness.

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A bow view of a Soviet Kiev-class aircraft carrier (CVHG) underway
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Naval Station Norfolk, Va. (Feb. 29, 2004) – Sailors aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) "man the rails" as the carrier approaches its pier at her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va. The carrier and its strike group are returning after completing a six-month deployment in support of the global war of terrorism, including Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Sondra Howett. (RELEASED)

Overview

  • The USS George Washington arrived in Da Nang on Thursday, July 30, 2026, for a scheduled port visit that the Navy says will reinforce ties with Vietnam and showcase U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific.
  • The Navy’s fiscal 2027 plan assigns $562 million to begin inactivation work on the retired carrier USS Nimitz but does not publish a full dismantlement cost estimate or completion schedule.
  • The Gerald R. Ford is in public-shipyard maintenance after a March 12 laundry-room fire and other problems, and Navy officials warn repairs could take longer than the targeted 18–24 months because of limited yard capacity.
  • Shipyard constraints and long, unpredictable Refueling and Complex Overhauls are already affecting the force: George Washington’s RCOH entered Newport News in August 2017 and was not redelivered until May 25, 2023, after 2,120 days in the yard.
  • Nuclear inactivation adds special steps and costs: Naval Reactors controls reactor defueling, spent fuel moves to Idaho in M-290 rail containers, and the country lacks a settled, public plan for full carrier reactor-compartment disposal, which will shape schedules, budgets and sailors’ living conditions during long availabilities.