COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster today was joined by the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) to announce the completion of the USS Yorktown Environmental Remediation Project. The project, which is a result of Governor McMaster's 2022 Executive Order, successfully removed more than 1.6 million gallons of hazardous materials and over nine tons of asbestos from the ship. The pollutants were at increasing risk of leaking into Charleston Harbor due to the continued corrosion of the Yorktown's outer hull, posing a major environmental and economic threat to the Lowcountry. 

"The USS Yorktown was a ticking environmental time bomb, with the risk of disaster increasing each year, and now it has been safely and successfully defused," said Governor Henry McMaster. "Had these materials leaked, they would have caused catastrophic damage to Charleston Harbor, destroying marshes and estuaries, killing marine life, and threatening industries that support thousands of jobs across the Lowcountry. Instead, we took action to prevent that disaster and protect South Carolina."

Commissioned in 1943, the Yorktown is an Essex-class aircraft carrier that was converted to an attack aircraft carrier in the 1950s, then to an anti-submarine aircraft carrier in 1957. After being decommissioned in 1970, it was donated to the Patriots Point Development Authority and relocated to the Charleston Harbor in 1975. When the Yorktown was decommissioned, the US Navy did not have strict decommissioning procedures and made the ship available to South Carolina “as is” and “without warranty." This included the presence of hazardous materials on board when the ship was relocated.

Phase I of the project concluded in December 2023 and included an environmental assessment study to identify the location and quantity of remaining legacy contaminants, as well as the completion of immediate repairs necessary to prepare the ship for the remediation process. This phase resulted in the extraction of 568,800 gallons of oily water, the removal of 8.88 tons of sludge and mud, the disposal of 4.5 tons of asbestos waste, and 35 external hull repairs. A copy of the Phase I report can be found here. 

Phase II remediation began in February 2025 and involved the removal of hazardous contaminants from over 100 structural tanks and over 30 non-structural tanks. Freshwater was added to the cleaned structural tanks to ensure the Yorktown remains stable. HEPACO LLC, Shipwright, Inc., and Isla Maritime completed this process from February to October 2025. During the project, the team transferred contaminants from the Yorktown to an on-site treatment facility. After initial treatment, remaining contaminants were sent to off-site processing and disposal facilities. Hazardous contaminants removed during Phase II and delivered to disposal sites included heavy fuel oil, more than 1.4 million gallons of contaminated fluids, and 9.1 tons of asbestos-containing piping insulation. In addition, over 375 temporary repairs were made to the structural tanks on the vessel.

SCOR awarded the USS Yorktown Environmental Assessment and Remediation project an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds grant in the amount of $10.7 million for Phase I and $20.9 million for Phase II, for a total budgeted award amount of $31.6 million. SCOR procured Research Planning, Inc. to complete the Phase I remediation plan in partnership with T&T Salvage, LLC, and GEL Laboratories, LLC. 

“Remediating such a critical hazard is a win for all partners involved with this project,” said SCOR Chief Resilience Officer Ben Duncan. “But beyond this immediate success, it demonstrates the ability of South Carolina to take a proactive approach to lessening or eliminating the likelihood of future disasters. I am proud of this team for identifying the need to act and working efficiently to mitigate the possibility of contamination, while preserving a significant historical landmark in our state.”

Photos, b-roll, and a map showing the areas that would be impacted if there were a toxic waste spill from the Yorktown can be found here.