(Brownsville) - The USS Saipan, a 27,000-ton, Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship launched in 1974, arrived at its final destination at the Port of Brownsville as it was nursed into a slip at International Shipbreaking Ltd.

Tugboats towed the 820-foot aircraft carrier, also known as a gator freighter, from its mothball berth in Philadelphia.

The Navy paid the incredible sum of two cents to International Shipbreaking to dispense with the Saipan — a penny for the tow and a penny for the vessel.

The Navy ship is the largest that International Shipbreaking has ever scrapped.
The dismantling process should take just under a year and the salvage project will employ roughly 250 people during that time.

The company will recoup the money it spent towing the ship from Philadelphia, plus some, when it sells the salvaged metal. Jason Glascock, the company’s environmental program manager, said they should be able to recycle most of the ship.

"Recycling vessels, you get very high return of the total volume you start with," Glascock said. "It’s in the upper 90 percentile range."