2026/01/17
Major plumbing headache haunts $13 billion U.S. carrier off the coast of Venezuela
耗資 130 億美元的美國航空母艦在委內瑞拉海岸附近遭遇嚴重排污系統問題困擾
https://ppt.cc/fJYrDxNew documents show the crew on board the United States' newest aircraft carrier are growing increasingly frustrated by design flaws that lead to regular failures in the ship's toilet system.
新文件顯示，美國最新型航空母艦上的船員對於設計缺陷感到越來越挫折，這些缺陷導致艦上的馬桶系統經常發生故障。
The USS Gerald R. Ford has been deployed for seven months since it left Norfolk in June. The carrier is currently at the center of the Trump administration's flotilla of Navy ships in the Caribbean. Since the raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the carrier continues to work with the Coast Guard as the U.S. interdicts oil tankers tied to Venezuela.
自 6 月離開諾福克（Norfolk）以來，「福特號」（USS Gerald R. Ford）已部署了七個月。
該航母目前處於川普政府加勒比海海軍艦隊的核心。自從抓捕委內瑞拉領導人馬杜洛（Nicolas Maduro）的行動後，隨著美國攔截與委內瑞拉有關的油輪，該航母持續與海岸警衛隊合作。
On board the carrier, the crew is battling a toilet system that the General Accountability Office reported in 2020 was undersized and poorly designed. The system continues to fail during deployment, forcing the crew of 4,600 sailors to live with a system that randomly breaks down during their months at sea.
在航母上，船員們正與馬桶系統搏鬥，美國政府問責署（GAO）在 2020 年的報告中指出，該系統規模過小且設計不良。該系統在部署期間持續故障，迫使 4,600 名水兵在海上數月的生活中，必須忍受一個會隨機崩潰的系統。
NPR has obtained documents that include a series of emails that detail the ship's effort to grapple with the breakdowns. 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.
美國國家公共廣播電台（NPR）取得了一系列文件，其中包括詳述該艦努力應對故障的電子郵件。這套「真空收集、保持與轉移系統」（VCHT）的問題在 2025 年有所增加。這套真空系統部分借鑒自郵輪業，雖然耗水量較少，但福特號所使用的系統更為複雜。自這艘耗資 130 億美元的航母於 2023 年首次部署以來，故障報告就沒斷過。
"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.
根據海軍透過《資訊自由法》（FOIA）要求提供的一份未標註日期的文件顯示：「自 2023 年 6 月以來，只要全體船員在艦上的每一天，都會接到故障通報，要求艦上人員修理或疏通 VCHT 系統的一部分。」
The carrier has called for help outside the ship 42 times since 2023. The rate of calls is increasing, with 32 calls happening in 2025; 12 calls were made after the carrier started its recent deployment in June.
自 2023 年以來，該航母已向艦外請求協助 42 次。通報頻率正在增加，其中 32 次發生在 2025 年；在該艦 6 月開始最近一次部署後，就進行了 12 次通報。
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. The sailors who work on the sewage system, called hull maintenance technicians (HTs), fell behind in the months leading up to USS Ford's scheduled deployment.
工程部門於 2025 年 3 月 18 日寄給艦上所有士官長的電子郵件稱，四天內發生了 205 次故障。負責污水系統的水兵被稱為「船體維護技術員」（HT），他們在福特號預定部署前的幾個月裡，工作進度已嚴重落後。
"Our sewage system is being mistreated and destroyed by Sailors on a daily basis. My HT's are currently working 19 hours a day right now trying to keep up with the demand," according to the email.
郵件寫道：「我們的污水系統每天都被水兵們濫用和破壞。我的技術員們目前每天工作 19 小時，試圖跟上維修需求。」
The average age on the USS Ford is similar to a college campus. For many of the sailors, this is their first extended time away from home. At times the emails almost evoke a floating dorm room, revealing that everything from t-shirts to a four-foot piece of rope have been removed from the system. The vacuum pipes are narrow. Brown paper towels and even commercial toilet paper also cause breakdowns. The most common problem is a valve at the back of the toilets that can be knocked loose and cause all of the toilets (which the Navy calls heads) in one of 10 zones to lose suction.
福特號上的平均年齡與大學校園相仿。對許多水兵來說，這是他們第一次長時間離開家。
有時這些郵件讀起來簡直像是在描述一座「海上宿舍」，揭露了從 T 恤到四英尺長的繩子都曾從系統中清出來。真空管路非常狹窄，褐色紙巾甚至是一般的商業衛生紙也會導致故障。最常見的問題是馬桶後方的閥門被撞鬆，導致 10 個區域中其中一區的所有馬桶（海軍稱之為 Heads）失去吸力。
"FYI, if you need to use the head, go now. At 13:30, expect the system to come down for about two hours. We are looking for a vacuum leak in zone 6," reads a March 18 email from the chief engineer on USS Ford.
福特號總工程師在 3 月 18 日的一封郵件中寫道：「供參考，如果你需要上廁所，現在就去。預計 13:30 系統會停機約兩小時。我們正在尋找第 6 區的真空洩漏點。」
A month after the carrier left Norfolk July 24, 2025, initially bound for Europe and the Mediterranean, the mother of a sailor contacted NPR to complain about the unsanitary conditions on the carrier. Around the same time, emails from USS Ford show the executive officer on the Ford was demanding answers from the engineering department about breakdowns.
在該航母於 2025 年 7 月 24 日離開諾福克（原定前往歐洲和地中海）一個月後，一名水兵的母親聯繫了 NPR，投訴艦上不衛生的環境。大約在此同時，福特號的電子郵件顯示，副艦長正要求工程部門針對故障給出交代。
The most expensive problem is calcium build-ups, which clog narrow pipes, especially in the lower decks of the ship. The 2020 GAO report said the Navy spends $400,000 for an acid flush to restore the system. A document showed the ship has been acid flushed at least 10 times since 2023. The work can only be done in port. A month after USS Ford left Norfolk, the engineering department was struggling to explain the problem to leadership.
最昂貴的問題是鈣沉積，它會堵塞狹窄的管道，特別是在船艦的下層甲板。2020 年的 GAO 報告指出，海軍每次花費 40 萬美元進行酸洗以恢復系統。一份文件顯示，該艦自 2023 年以來已進行了至少 10 次酸洗。這項工作只能在港口進行。在福特號離開諾福克一個月後，工程部門仍難以向領導層解釋清楚這個問題。
"That's just the nature of VCHT. It's a closed system and thousands of components ship-wide that fail daily. With one commode control valve failure, depending on the location brings down the entire zone," according to an Aug. 15, 2025 email from the engineering department.
工程部門在 2025 年 8 月 15 日的電子郵件中表示：「這就是 VCHT 的本質。這是一個封閉系統，全艦有數千個組件每天都在損壞。只要一個馬桶控制閥失效，視位置而定，整個區域都會癱瘓。」
The crew has been reaching out to the A1B Propulsion Plant Planning Yard at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia for answers, according to an email chain between the carrier and the planning yard. The planning yard is part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, which is the only shipyard in the world that builds Ford Class aircraft carriers. The Navy's In-Service Aircraft Carrier Program Office (PMS312) is responsible for maintaining the carriers.
根據航母與規劃場之間的電子郵件鏈，船員們一直向維吉尼亞州紐波特紐斯造船廠的 A1B 動力裝置規劃場尋求答案。該規劃場隸屬於亨廷頓·英格爾斯工業公司（HII），這是世界上唯一建造福特級航母的造船廠。海軍的在役航空母艦計畫辦公室（PMS312）負責維護這些航母。
"What we want to do is give you a temporary resolution to get your heads into a somewhat functional use until such time 10+ years down the road when PMS312 finally gets around to paying for a redesign," reads a July 24 email back to the carrier from the planning yard.
規劃場在 7 月 24 日回覆給航母的郵件中寫道：「我們想做的是給你們一個臨時解決方案，讓廁所能維持某種程度的功能，直到 10 多年後 PMS312 終於有預算進行重新設計為止。」
█ Longstanding problem
█ 長期存在的問題
Whenever USS Ford wraps up its assignments in the Caribbean, the carrier is scheduled to go into maintenance this year at the Navy's public shipyard, Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia, according to the emails. The Navy has known the system is undersized and riddled with issues for more than a decade. A similar vacuum system was installed on the last Nimitz-Class carrier USS George HW Bush. In 2013, the carrier experienced similar problems, with toilets going off line.郵件顯示，每當福特號完成加勒比海的任務，預計今年將進入維吉尼亞州的諾福克海軍造船廠進行維修。海軍十多年來一直知道該系統規模過小且問題重重。類似的真空系統也安裝在最後一艘尼米茲級航母「布希號」（USS George HW Bush）上。2013 年，該艦也經歷了類似的問題，馬桶頻繁失效。
The Navy said Ford will eventually be given an upgrade.
海軍表示，福特號最終將獲得升級。
"GRF (USS Gerald R. Ford) is scheduled to receive VCHT system improvements in upcoming maintenance availabilities. Similar upgrades on CVN 77 (the carrier USS George HW Bush) have resulted in fewer VCHT maintenance issues," Lt. Cmdr. David Carter, spokesman for Fleet Forces Command said in a statement to NPR.
艦隊司令部發言人大衛·卡特少校（Lt. Cmdr. David Carter）在給 NPR 的聲明中說：「福特號預計在未來的維修期間接受 VCHT 系統的改進。CVN 77（布希號）的類似升級已減少了 VCHT 的維護問題。」「GRF（傑拉爾德·R·福特號）預計在即將到來的維修期間接受 VCHT 系統的改進。艦隊部隊司令部發言人大衛·卡特中校在接受 NPR 採訪時表示，CVN 77（航空母艦喬治·HW·布希號）的類似升級，導致 VCHT 維修問題減少。艦隊司令部發言人大衛·卡特少校（Lt.Cmdr. David Carter）在給 NPR 的聲明中說：「福特號預計在未來的維修期間接受 VCHT 系統的改進。CVN 77（布希號）的類似升級已減少了 VCHT 的維護問題。」
The trail of emails provided through the Navy ends in August, before USS Ford sailed for the Caribbean in November to be part of the build up of U.S. forces around Venezuela.
海軍提供的郵件紀錄截止於 8 月，隨後福特號於 11 月啟程前往加勒比海，成為美國在委內瑞拉周邊集結兵力的一環。
Without providing details, Carter said the problems with the toilets have gotten better as the deployment continues. The average outage is between half an hour and two hours and the problems have had "no operational impact," he said.
卡特並未提供細節，但表示馬桶問題隨著部署的進行已有所改善。他說，平均停機時間在半小時到兩小時之間，且這些問題「對作戰沒有影響」。
Experts say a long-term fix is not expected this year.
專家表示，預計今年內不會有長期解決方案。
Problems with the carrier's waste system were known well before it was given to the Navy. Part of the solution may include putting more sailors on board the ship to keep up with the repairs, though the ship was actually designed to require fewer sailors to operate it than older Nimitz carriers, said Shelby Oakley, director of GAO.
GAO 主任謝爾比·奧克利（Shelby Oakley）表示，該航母廢物處理系統的問題在交付給海軍之前就已廣為人知。解決方案的一部分可能包括派遣更多水兵上艦負責維修，儘管這艘船最初的設計理念是比舊型尼米茲級航母需要更少的員工人數來操作。
"It's important to kind of think about, like we're asking you sailors to live in these conditions," she said. "We should at least be able to provide them with living facilities, to be able to not have to kind of struggle in that regard. And it's unfortunate that this is where we're at."
她說：「重要的是要考慮到，我們正要求水兵們生活在這種條件下。我們至少應該能提供基本生活設施，讓他們不必在那方面苦苦掙扎。遺憾的是，這就是我們目前的處境。」
The carrier USS Ford was already the most expensive ship ever built by the Navy. It is stacked with new technology and many of the systems had not been proven in the field, which drove up the cost and delayed its delivery to the Navy. Borrowing the sewage system from commercial cruise ships may have been a mistake, said Bryan Clark with the Hudson Institute.
福特號航母已經是海軍造過最昂貴的艦艇。它堆砌了大量新技術，其中許多系統尚未經過實地驗證，這推高了成本並延遲了交付。哈德遜研究所的布萊恩·克拉克（Bryan Clark）表示，借用商業郵輪的污水系統可能是一個錯誤。
"Maybe this is an example where they should have kept the old system rather than going after the new technology," Clark said.
克拉克說：「這或許是一個案例，說明他們應該保留舊系統，而不是一味追求新技術。」
A cruise ship has a very different mission from a nuclear-powered warship, which is designed to remain at sea for months. It is a cautionary tale, as the Trump administration looks at increasing the pace of ship building, including a proposed battleship that would have potentially even more systems that have not been tested in the field, Clark said.
郵輪的使命與設計要在海上待上數月的核動力軍艦截然不同。克拉克表示，這是一個警世故事，因為川普政府正考慮加快造艦速度，包括提議建造一艘可能擁有更多未經實地測試系統的戰列艦。
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