Why are aircraft carriers worth only $0.01 for scrap?

Question

I read in the news that after decommissioning its aircraft carriers, the US Navy sells them to a scrapping company in exchange for $0.01.

How does something that cost over $5 billion to build and contains over 50,000 tons of steel get reduced in value to a mere single cent?

In: 9559

Answer 1

Normally, scrapping a carrier *costs* money. The fueling, crewing, towing, and beaching of a carrier of that size is stupid expensive, and the pay of $0.01 reflects the fact that the scrap from the carrier will provide for the costs associated with processing the ship.