Ship decommissioning

Ship decommissioning
Crew members and guest salute as the colors are paraded at the decommissioning ceremony of the salvage and rescue ship Grasp.
Sailors lower the National Ensign from the submarine Parche during the decommissioning ceremony

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition.

In modern use the term paid off is used by some navies, a reference to the crews being given their pay when their service on the ship was complete.[citation needed]

Ship decommissioning in the United States Navy

In the United States Navy, various directives pertaining to these events are issued periodically, addressing questions concerning the proper wording of invitations and the agenda for the ceremony. In general, however, regulations do not predetermine the precise sequence of activities or establish inflexible protocol stipulations. Responsible officials are given a comfortable latitude to produce a ceremony distinctively Navy in heritage and significance, yet singular in its specific circumstances. The ceremony described here is not a rigid standard so much as a concept of what has been done in the past in order to provide a guide to what is traditional and appropriate for the situation.

A decommissioning is overseen by the Commander of the squadron or other unit to which the ship belongs, and is usually attended by other senior officers and government officials. After their arrival honors are rendered, the national anthem is played to commence the ceremony. The chaplain gives the invocation, then the Commanding Officer makes welcoming remarks and introduces the guest speaker.[citation needed]

After the guest speaker's comments, which usually include a résumé of the ship's history, the Commanding Officer calls "Attention to orders!" and begins the final sequence of orders that ship's crew will carry out by reading the decommissioning order. The Commanding Officer then orders, "Executive Officer, make preparations to decommission United States Ship Notaship." The Executive Officer responds, "Aye aye, Captain," then to the ship's officers, calls for "Reports!"[citation needed]

The heads of various departments make their reports, sometimes including archaisms that link their ship with the ships that have gone before them. For example, the Operations Officer may report, "All secure about the decks. The running lights have been extinguished, the cannonballs have been removed and the cannon has been spiked." To each report, the Executive Officer responds, "Very well." After the last report, the Executive Officer summarizes, "Captain, Notaship is ready for decommissioning."

The Commanding Officer then asks his/her superior officer for permission to decommission the ship. After granting it, the attending officers and guests are piped ashore with appropriate honors.

The Commanding Officer orders the Executive Officer to have the ship's company lay ashore. Once the crew is ashore, the Commanding Officer orders, "Strike eight bells," terminating the final watch, and "Haul down the colors." All present salute as the national ensign and jack are lowered. The commissioning pennant is hauled down last.

The last command is given by the Executive Officer: "Secure the watch." At that moment, the continuous cycle of watchstanding ends, and the ship is no longer in commission. The Commanding Officer reports this fact to his/her superior officer and relinquishes command. The chaplain may give a benediction, and the commanding officer then directs the Executive Officer to have the members of the crew carry out their respective orders.

The commanding officer is presented the last commissioning pennant to fly over the ship to keep as a memento, and the crew member with the most years of service keeps the last ensign flown by the ship.

In the Indian Navy a large decommissioning pennant is hoisted during the last week of service of the war ship. The decommissioning pennant is the last one to be hauled down.



See also

References

  • OPNAVINST 171O.7A, Chapter 9: Ship Ceremonies[not specific enough to verify]

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Decommissioning — is a general term for a formal process to remove something from active status. Specific instances include: Infrastructure Decommissioned highway Greenfield status of former industrial sites Nuclear decommissioning of power plants Military… …   Wikipedia

  • Ship breaking — or ship demolition is a type of recycling involving the breaking up of ships for scrap. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomic. Ship breaking allows for materials from …   Wikipedia

  • Ship-Submarine Recycling Program — The Ship/Submarine Recycling Program (SRP) is the process the United States Navy uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels. SRP takes place only at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) in Bremerton, Washington, but the preparations can… …   Wikipedia

  • Ship commissioning — Hundreds attend the commissioning ceremony for the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan …   Wikipedia

  • Museum ship — The Polish destroyer ORP Błyskawica is currently preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia. For ships that are not original see Ship replica. For preserved incomplete ships see Ships preserved in museums. A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is… …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear decommissioning — Example of decommissioning work underway. The reactor pressure ves …   Wikipedia

  • Battlestar Galactica (ship) — The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica .The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their… …   Wikipedia

  • German naval ship Mühlhausen — Mühlhausen was a naval ship in service with the German Navy. The ship was launched June 30 1966 at the Burmester Werft in Bremen with the name Walther von Ledebur . She was a prototype of a new class of ocean going minesweepers, which however was …   Wikipedia

  • Mistral class amphibious assault ship — The Mistral in Toulon harbour Class overview Name: Mistral Builders: STX Europe …   Wikipedia

  • Golden Bear (ship) — The TS Golden Bear is the training ship of the California Maritime Academy (CMA), a campus of the California State University. The first training ship of the California Maritime Academy was known as the Training Ship California State , then as… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”