JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The USS Gerald R. Ford has been deployed for seven months. It's part of the Trump administration's buildup of forces in the Caribbean, but there is a problem on board the aircraft carrier, and it is getting worse. Steve Walsh with WHRO in Norfolk is here to explain. Hi.
STEVE WALSH, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: So, Steve, what's the problem?
WALSH: Well, in a word, the toilets. Back in July, I was contacted by the mother of a sailor on board USS Ford. She was concerned about sanitary conditions on the carrier, which had just deployed from its home port in Norfolk in June. A number of toilets were out of commission, and she wanted to know why. NPR has obtained documents that include a series of emails that detail the ship's effort to grapple with the breakdowns.
SUMMERS: I mean, that's a reasonable question, and it seems like a serious problem, especially with the Ford being a part of this military buildup, as we mentioned, as the administration applies pressure on Venezuela.
WALSH: That's right. So that just makes it all the more urgent. To be blunt, it's hard for 4,600 sailors to spend weeks and months on a ship without fully functioning toilets. USS Ford is the U.S.' newest aircraft carrier. It cost $13 billion, and it includes a number of new systems that hadn't been fully tested on Navy warships. The vacuum sewage system was borrowed in part from the cruise ship industry. It uses less water. But cruise ships are very different from warships, and the crew is struggling to keep up with repairs.
SUMMERS: So that mother that you heard from wasn't imagining things. Seriously, how bad is it?
WALSH: It's pretty bad. According to an email from the engineering department sent in March, sailors were working 19 hours a day to track down and fix leaks. The email references 205 calls in less than four days. Toilets, which the Navy calls heads, can go down for hours in parts of the ship. Once the carrier finally left Norfolk in June, the problem seemed to have gotten worse. In July and August, there are increasingly heated discussions between leadership and the engineering department. Since it's a vacuum system, a problem with one head can cause all of the toilets in that part of the ship to lose suction, making it difficult for the maintenance crews to isolate a problem. The crews find everything from T-shirts to a four-foot piece of rope clogging the system. But the most common problem seems to be a part of the back of the toilet that comes loose.
SUMMERS: OK. And you said that the Navy's known about this problem for years. So, I mean, obvious question maybe, but why don't they fix it?
WALSH: Right. So cost is a big factor. The Navy knew about the issue before the carrier was even finished. A 2020 General Accountability Office report says the Navy has a temporary solution to clean the pipes with an acid flush, which costs $400,000 each time it's used. Documents we received show the Ford has done this at least 10 times since 2023. It can't be done while the ship is deployed, though, so the crew has been power washing areas with calcium, and sludge departments - and sludge buildups are happening.
So without offering specifics, the Navy said in a statement that the carrier has seen a decrease in issues as the Ford deployment continues. A long-term solution is expected to be expensive and years away. And, Juana, experts tell NPR that this is one of many cautionary tales for the Navy as the administration looks at designing a new battleship with lasers and railguns and other unproven technology.
SUMMERS: Steve Walsh with WHRO, thank you.
WALSH: Thanks, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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