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kloch
I wish this were being turned into a museum ship like the USS Midway. It's unique since it's the only surviving member of it's class. I guess it wasn't notable enough. Hopefully the Nimitz will become a museum when it is retired.

List of US Navy aircraft carriers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_carriers_of_t...

savoytruffle
One would hope so, but it's generally thought that removing the nuclear reactors require so much structural demolition that it wouldn't be in any shape to be a museum afterwards. The USS Enterprise CVN-65 is the first nuclear aircraft carrier ever to be decommissioned and it's one of the most famous. But it's thought to be impractical to become a museum in its entirety. (Enterprise does have 8 smaller reactors compared to Nimitz 2, so not entirely comparable)
NikolaeVarius
Its a shame its getting scrapped.

I don't think any nuclear carrier will ever become museum ships because they need to be torn apart to decommission the reactor.

mrguyorama
Their sheer size is also likely a huge issue to make them a museum ship. It's about twice the tonnage and crew/compliment as the USS Iowa class museum ships we have.
bell-cot
If the scrapyard (vs. the U.S. Navy) is paying for the ~70,000 ton, 325-meter-long former aircraft carrier to be towed ~16,000 miles, from Washington (state) to Texas - it's too big for the Panama Canal - then they are actually paying quite a few million dollars for it.
Someone
This ship also is 48 years old, so it will have asbestos in all kinds of places (probably even more so than a civilian ship would. Preventing the spreading of fire is fairly essential on a warship) Separating that from the valuable metals can be costly.
savoytruffle
It was in service for 48 years. It was built in the late 1950's, so it is even much older.
andrewf
If you're near San Francisco and think it's a shame this isn't becoming a museum ship, I'd encourage you to visit and support the Jeremiah O'Brien, one of two still-floating Liberty ships (WWII cargo transports). It's a much smaller ship but still needs >$1 million every so often for drydock inspection and maintenance: https://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/pages/how-you-can-help

No affiliation, I've just enjoyed visiting a couple times. If you show up on the right day you can wander round the engine room while it's running!

dctoedt
And the (conventionally-powered aircraft carrier) USS Hornet, "welded to the pier" in Alameda, just across the Bay Bridge (and south a bit) from SF.

The Hornet was the recovery ship for the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969.

https://uss-hornet.org/

ncmncm
What I wanted to know immediately was whether this was a nuclear reactor-powered ship. It wasn't. Decommissioning a nuke ship must be harder.
Irongirl1
Ok don't scream at me, but when I see these all I can think of is floating apartment complexes. Especially in places that are being affected by higher water levels and where zoning/lack of space makes more housing impractical. Plus I'd love one just for me...I know it would cost the Earth to reno.....but still all that space and being able to move wherever you want...you would have your own mobile island.