Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships (see Nuclear navy). Only a very few experimental civil nuclear ships have been built; the elimination of fossil fuel has not outweighed the technical, economic and political difficulties of this application of nuclear power.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a supercarrier of the United States Navy, and is the lead ship of its class. It is one of the largest warships in the world. It was laid down, launched and commissioned as CVAN-68 but was redesignated CVN 68 (nuclear-powered multimission aircraft carrier) on 30 June 1975 as part of the fleet realignment of that year.
The ship was named for World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, who was the navy’s third fleet admiral. Unlike all subsequent Nimitz class aircraft carriers, Nimitz only uses its namesake's surname as is common for military officers. It is also the first carrier of its class and the most recent supercarrier in service not to be named for someone who held elected office in the United States.
Nimitz was homeported at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when it was relocated to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. Following its Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001, its homeport was changed to NAS North Island in San Diego, California. Nimitz home port was again changed to Everett, Washington in 2012. This move is expected to save the navy $100 million.