The U.S. Navy’s USS Ticonderoga and USS Charles F. Adams are now at International Shipbreaking LLC at the Port of Brownsville for stripping and recycling. Both ships are scheduled to be completely demilitarized by 2021.

The USS Ticonderoga was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and then delivered to the Navy in 1982. Her service includes providing naval gunfire support off the coast of Lebanon on her maiden voyage in 1984. She was also assigned to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Battle Group and participated in Operation Desert Shield in 1990. Other past assignments include Operation Southern Watch and Operation Deny Flight in 1995.

“We take great pride in having been awarded the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contract to recycle this historic vessel,” said Chris Green, senior manager at International Shipbreaking Ltd. “The USS Ticonderoga has significant sentimental meaning to the men and women who served our country and spent a part of their lives with her. She will be recycled in a safe, respectful and environmentally responsible manner.”

The USS Adams’s history includes serving as flagship for cold war surveillance of Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic. She also carried out space flight recovery operations in 1962 as part of Project Mercury from NASA. This was a first for the U.S. Navy. Adams also took part in quarantine and surveillance operations as part of the Cuban missile crisis, thus resulting in an awarding of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

“It is with great pride that we welcome the USS Adams on her final journey. It’s an honor to work on a ship with such an impressive service to her country,” Green said. “We have a long history of dismantling military vessels in a respectful and compliant manner and have invested heavily to build a world class green ship recycling facility in Brownsville, Texas.”