Thursday, 4:30 PM
Low on fuel, USS JFK stays in Boston extra day to fill its tank
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
The USS John F. Kennedy will linger an extra day in Boston Harbor while sailors refuel the 1,052-foot-long aircraft carrier for its voyage to Florida for decommissioning.
The ship was scheduled to pull away from the North Jetty in South Boston's Marine Industrial Park at 11:30 a.m. today, but its departure has been rescheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
"It's just easier for the ship to fuel here than to stop in Norfolk" in Virginia, said Lieutenant Paul Brawley, a Navy spokesman.
More than 51,000 people toured the ship on Saturday and Sunday as the JFK made its final stop in the home state of its namesake. The JFK will not be open to the public today or before it leaves on Tuesday, Brawley said.
When it pulls out of port, the 2,400 sailors aboard the JFK will "man the rails" -- stand on the edge of the flight deck as the ship heads out to sea.
"Then, that's it," Brawley said.
The JFK will be decommissioned in Mayport, Fla., before heading to a Philadelphia shipyard, where it will be stored with other mothballed ships. The aircraft carrier was in service for nearly 40 years and went on combat missions in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.
