Crews are preparing the decommissioned USS Saratoga aircraft carrier in Rhode Island for a trip to Texas to be scrapped.
Officials with Naval Station Newport say they expect the ship to depart the base Thursday morning and pass Fort Adams at about 10:45 a.m. before heading to the Esco Marine ship recycling plant in Brownsville, Texas. The Saratoga was supposed to leave Wednesday, but the voyage was postponed because of bad weather.
Esco Marine is being paid a penny by the Navy to dispose of the Saratoga and plans to make money by selling what it recovers from the ship.
The Saratoga was launched in 1955 and decommissioned in 1994. The vessel fell into disrepair, and an effort to preserve the ship as a museum failed.
