They don’t have people who can maintain all that?
Is this Scrapple?
Loose the A/C and you loose electronics. A carrier has roughly 2000 tons of Chill Water cooling systems. That would be about 6-10 chillers depending on each individual units capacity. The chill water loop can be isolated or operated in a one loop system.
This sounds like they had a compressor about ready to lock up and are turning back to replace it. But it could have been done at sea if that were the case. A walk in cooler compressor on a carrier is about the size of a 4 cylinder engine and should be able to be lowered down a hatch rather than cutting the deck. The problem may have been if the compressor needed replaced {they can be overhauled at sea as well} that is was so big that they will have to cut the decks open to get to it. That in turn effects the ships water tight integrity and might be the reason.