This $13 Billion Aircraft Carrier Can't Get One Important Thing To Work

When the world's largest aircraft carrier was first undergoing sea trials, its advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) struggled, which is understandable since it was a new and advanced system for aircraft carriers. Plumbing, on the other hand, the United States Navy has had a handle on for a good while. Until now, it seems. While the USS Gerald R. Ford has been launching fighter jets to assist with operations in the Caribbean, it has been suffering a series of mishaps with its toilet.

The carrier has a crew of 4,600, which is a lot of individuals in one place not to have a working plumbing system. NPR submitted a FOIA request and received documents that showed the crew has been trying to manage this issue since 2023. The bulk of the problem has been from the Vacuum Collection, Holding and Transfer (VCHT) system. The VCHT system is identical to that used in the cruise ship industry, but the rest of the carrier's plumbing is more complex than that of a cruise ship.

One document the publication received states, "Every day that the entire crew is present on the ship, a trouble call has been made for ship's force personnel to repair or unclog a portion of the VCHT system, since June 2023." For more than two years, the most advanced aircraft carrier in the world has requested help 42 times for its toilets, with 32 of those calls taking place in 2025.

An email NPR received from the engineering department said, "Our sewage system is being mistreated and destroyed by Sailors on a daily basis. My [hull maintenance technicians] are currently working 19 hours a day right now trying to keep up with the demand." Fleet Forces Command spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. David Carter sent a statement to Task & Purpose that said something similar: that the ship receives so many maintenance calls for its plumbing, "from improper materials being introduced into the systems."

Calcium buildup is also a major cause of the whole problem, which can be treated with an acid flush, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that it's costly, too. Each acid flush runs the government about $400,000, and the USS Gerald R. Ford has had around 10 flushes since 2023. It might sound surreal that plumbing on such an advanced vessel could be causing so many issues, but the fact of the matter is that any mishap, no matter how minor it might seem, could be catastrophic for the military. Even a WWII German U-Boat went down because of a malfunctioning toilet.