EVERETT – Speculation that the Everett-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln could be permanently assigned to an American naval base in Japan was put aside on Friday.
The Navy announced that the USS George Washington will become the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be stationed in Japan, replacing the diesel-powered USS Kitty Hawk in 2008.
The Washington, commissioned in 1992, is one of five aircraft carriers based in Norfolk, Va.
American military personnel and equipment has been based in Japan since the end of World War II, but the Japanese have objected to basing a nuclear-powered carrier there. The opposition stemmed from concerns of radiation leaks and the memory of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that brought an end to the war 60 years ago.
In October, the U.S. and Japanese governments reached agreement to allow the stationing of a nuclear carrier to replace the Kitty Hawk.
In November, a published report in Japan identified the Lincoln as a likely replacement for the Kitty Hawk, but officials here scoffed at the idea.
“Today’s decision is good news for Naval Station Everett and our community,” said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Larsen said the Navy’s decision to move a carrier from the East Coast to the Asian Pacific region points to the growing concern over China’s efforts to upgrade its navy.
Removal of the USS Washington from Virginia will reduce the number of carriers on the East Coast from six to five. Four of them would continue to be based in Norfolk
Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson, reached by telephone on a trade mission in China, said he was “very happy for Everett and for the men and women of the Abraham Lincoln to be able to continue being a part of the community for the foreseeable future.”
The Washington, now undergoing maintenance and equipment upgrades, will move to Yokosuka, Japan.
“This rotation is part of the Navy’s long-range effort to routinely replace older ships assigned to the Navy’s forward deployed naval forces with newer, more capable platforms,” the Navy said in a statement.
The Kitty Hawk is the oldest of 12 Navy carriers. It was commissioned in 1961 and has been stationed in Japan since 1998. It is due to be retired in 2008.
The Navy air wing assigned to the Kitty Hawk in Japan will remain there and operate with the Washington, the Navy said.
The Virginia-Pilot newspaper said removing the Washington will remove about $225 million a year from the local economy, according to planners in Norfolk.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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