U.S. Navy sells two former aircraft carriers to shipbreaker for 1 cent each

File photo taken on Feb. 25, 2005 shows USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier anchoring in Hong Kong of South China. (Xinhua Photo/Wang Xiaochuan)

"The contract values reflect that the contracted company will benefit from the subsequent sale of scrap steel, iron, and non-ferrous metal ores," said a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command.

HOUSTON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy has sold two former aircraft carriers, USS Kitty Hawk and USS John F. Kennedy, to a Texas shipbreaking company for one cent each, the Naval Sea Systems Command said on Tuesday.

"The contract values reflect that the contracted company will benefit from the subsequent sale of scrap steel, iron, and non-ferrous metal ores," said Alan Baribeau, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command.

Both warships are aging and defunct. For the Kitty Hawk, that likely means a tug boat tow from Bremerton, Washington, around the tip of South America; for the John F. Kennedy, a sailing from the Philadelphia Navy Yard, according to a USA Today report.

The contract with International Shipbreaking Limited in Brownsville, Texas, for the tow, remediation, dismantling and recycling of the storied warships makes imminent their departures from the Navy's mothball fleet, said the report.

No timetable has been established for either ship's departure and dismantling, said the report.