SAN DIEGO —
After extensive cleanup and reclamation in the wake of a July inferno, the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard will be decommissioned in San Diego next week before being towed elsewhere to be scrapped, the Navy said in a statement.
Navy officials said in November that while Bonhomme Richard was salvageable, the time and price of repair — five to seven years at an estimated $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion — were too steep to warrant saving the 22-year-old ship.
The Navy plans to hold a small decommissioning ceremony Wednesday with limited attendance. Then the ship will be towed to a scrapyard, said Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a Naval Surface Force Pacific spokeswoman.