BREMERTON, Wash. – The ex-USS Independence (CV-62), an aircraft carrier decommissioned Sept. 30, 1998, is planned to embark on its final journey March 10.
Ex-Independence (CV 62) will depart the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington for transit to Brownsville, Texas for dismantlement by International Shipbreaking Limited. The ship will transit around South America through the Straits of Magellan to the Atlantic Ocean and is planned to arrive in Brownsville this summer.
The ship is scheduled to depart, weather permitting, at 8:00 a.m. PST and will be visible along the waterfronts of Bremerton, Port Orchard and Bainbridge Island as it makes the trip through Rich Passage. No ceremonial send-off is planned, however, spectators may also view the ship pulling out from the south end of the Navy parking lot running alongside Hwy 304, near Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton Pass & ID.
The USS Independence was commissioned Jan. 10, 1959, and contributed greatly to the nation’s defense during it’s nearly 40 year history. This 1,070 foot-long, 60,000 ton vessel was the fourth and final of the Forrestal class carriers. During its lifecycle, the ship made one tour off the coast of Vietnam in 1965, carried out airstrikes against Syrian forces during the Lebanese Civil War and enforced the no-fly zone over southern Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch.
NAVSEA’s Deputy Commander for Surface Warfare (SEA 21) is the life cycle management organization for the Navy's in-service surface ships and is responsible for managing critical modernization, maintenance, training and inactivation programs.