AP

USS Kitty Hawk

SEATTLE – The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton is about to become home to the oldest active vessel in the U.S. Navy.

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk will arrive Tuesday from San Diego, along with about 1,600 sailors moving to the Northwest.

The ship, which was commissioned in 1961, is scheduled to be decommissioned next January. The number of sailors assigned to the Kitty Hawk will be down to 400 by then.

The ship recently turned over it’s “forward deployed” duties to the USS George Washington. The Kitty Hawk was the first aircraft carrier to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It also launched strikes against Saddam Hussein’s forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Todd Shipyards to continue carrier overhauls

Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp. will continue overhauling the Navy's nuclear-powered Nimitz class aircraft carriers based in Puget Sound through 2013. The deal announced Tuesday is likely to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Todd held two previous five-year non-nuclear maintenance and repair contracts dating from 1999.

General Counsel Mike Marsh says the value of the latest contract will depend on what the Navy wants. He says work under the previous contracts averaged one major carrier overhaul a year at $25 million to $30 million. That meant jobs for 300 to 400 people at shipyards in Bremerton, Everett and Seattle.

Marsh says the next scheduled major overhaul will be on the USS Lincoln in April. The last was on the USS John C. Stennis early this year.