""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," reads an undated document provided by the Navy, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The carrier has called for help outside the ship 42 times since 2023."
"Problems with the Vacuum Collection, Holding and Transfer (VCHT) system increased in 2025. The vacuum system was adopted in part from the cruise ship industry. It uses less water, but the system used by USS Ford is more complex. Breakdowns have been reported since the $13 billion carrier first deployed in 2023. A March 18, 2025 email from the engineering department sent out to all chiefs on the ship said there were 205 breakdowns in four days."
USS Gerald R. Ford has been deployed for seven months since leaving Norfolk in June and is operating in the Caribbean as part of U.S. naval operations interdicting tankers tied to Venezuela. The carrier’s Vacuum Collection, Holding and Transfer (VCHT) toilet system was reported by the Government Accountability Office in 2020 as undersized and poorly designed. Breakdowns have occurred since the carrier’s 2023 deployment and intensified in 2025. The vacuum-based system, adapted from the cruise industry, uses less water but is more complex. Ship documents obtained via FOIA show daily trouble calls, 42 outside assistance requests since 2023, and 205 breakdowns recorded in four days.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]