Prolonged carrier maintenance in shipyards leads to greater suicide risk for sailors: Navy report

Sailors assigned to ships undergoing years-long maintenance periods appear to be at a heightened risk of death by suicide due to inadequate living conditions, a Navy report found. 

The chances of a sailor aboard an aircraft carrier committing suicide are approximately two times higher in the shipyard than at sea, according to the investigation released on Thursday. Over the past five years, 57% of suicides aboard aircraft carriers occurred while the carrier was in a shipyard. 

The investigation, which examined living conditions of sailors assigned to ships going through an overhaul, was ordered after three sailors assigned to the carrier George Washington committed suicide within a single week in April 2022.