U. S. “Truman” nuclear aircraft carrier near the port of Egypt 12 with a bulk carrier rare collision, is currently rushing to the nearest port maintenance. Fox News said on the 15th that the latest photos released by the U.S. Navy showed obvious external damage to the U.S. aircraft carrier, but the specific situation is still unclear, fortunately, the nuclear power plant was not affected. Experts interviewed by the Global Times said that the aircraft carrier is currently the US Navy’s key escort force in the Red Sea Waterway. If it is forced to be repaired because of this accident, it is likely to affect the US Navy’s plans for global deployment.
How much damage is done to US aircraft carriers?
According to the Stars and Stripes of the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet, in the Mediterranean Sea near the Egyptian city of Port Said late on the 12th, the Truman collided with a cargo ship, the Be?ikta? J.K. m. U.S. aircraft carriers were lining up to pass through the canal, while 53,000-ton bulk carriers had just passed through the canal before heading to Romania.
The USS Truman was damaged in several places in the collision.
After the accident, the U.S. Navy quickly reported damage above the waterline, but the nuclear power plant was safe, there was no flooding, there were no casualties on board, and the fighter planes on board were not damaged. Photos released by the U.S. Navy showed a clear impact mark on the rear platform of the aircraft carrier’s starboard lift, with a tear near the stern on the starboard side, Fox said Wednesday, a pipe along the side of the ship also appeared to have been badly damaged. The US Naval Academy website says these are only some of the damage to the carrier, but that“Other parts of the ship are less damaged”.
The U. S. Navy didn’t elaborate on the damage. The U. S. Naval Academy website said, “Truman” aircraft carrier is currently located in the Eastern Mediterranean, and plans to enter port, so that inspection teams to assess the ship’s maintenance needs. It is not clear how long the repairs will take, but Pentagon officials say the goal is to get the Truman back into service as soon as possible.
As for the specific cause of the crash, it is still under investigation. Photos circulating on social media showed damage to the Be?ikta? J.K. ‘s bow, including the cutting of the mooring line reel and damage to the front starboard hatch coaming, according to analysis by power. “Normally, U.S. carriers are supposed to be under the tight protection of their escort ships, but the circumstances were unusual — carriers were preparing to pass through the Suez Canal and were required to stand in single file,” the Stars and Stripes said, citing an analysis by U.S. shipping expert Sal Melcoliano, the site is a busy anchorage at the northern exit of the Suez Canal, full of oil tankers and cargo ships. Commander Timothy Gorman, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet, declined to say whether the U.S. aircraft carrier had turned on a targeting device designed to avoid collisions at sea, “It is too early to comment on the circumstances of the collision,” he said.
‘aircraft carrier window’ in Red Sea
“Fox” website mentioned that after the aircraft carrier“Truman” and the destroyer“Jason Dunham”, which escorted the aircraft carrier, finished a short rest in the Mediterranean Sea before the accident, is planning to return to the Red Sea to continue to carry out escort operations against Houthi forces in Yemen.
The US Navy had previously declared that it had 2023“The most intense air and sea engagements since the Second World War” with the Houthis in the Red Sea after a new round of the Israeli-palestinian conflict began in October, forced the Pentagon to pull a number of U. S. aircraft carriers from around the world to join the war on a rotating basis. Last December, the United States Central Command issued a statement saying that the Truman Carrier Strike Group had been deployed to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility“To ensure security and stability.”, including the USS Truman, the Fort Ticonderoga Cruiser Gettysburg, the Arleigh Burke, the guided missile destroyer Stott, and the Jayson Dunham. During the deployment, the Houthis claimed to have attacked the carrier several times, in a hurry, the Gettysburg cruiser shot down a Super Hornet fighter jet that had taken off from the Truman. The U. S. Navy acknowledged that the“Truman” aircraft carrier strike group is“The U. S. Navy since World War II during the most intense period of continuous combat operations.
Experts interviewed by the Global Times said that the damage to the aircraft carrier“Truman” is still unclear, if the damage is minor, they may return to sea after a brief port repair to continue their deployment, and return to their home port for major repairs after completing this deployment. But if damage is assessed to key components such as lifts, affecting the overall operational capability of the aircraft carrier, it is likely to disrupt deployment, given that the carrier is still in a state of continuous combat with the Houthis, take the lead in returning to base to repair. Whether it is temporarily repaired at a nearby port or returned to base for a major overhaul, experts say the planned global deployment of the U.S. carrier will have a ripple effect. In recent years, the U.S. aircraft carriers have generally been in poor condition, and the super-intensive use brought about by global deployment has led to a shortage of actual aircraft carriers, even in the Pentagon’s most important direction of the western Pacific there have been a number of“Carrier window.”.
According to the website of the U.S. Naval Academy, of the 11 aircraft carriers currently in service, only four are operational: the USS Washington in Japan, the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea, the USS Truman in the Middle East and the USS Nimitz. According to the original plan of the U. S. Navy, the Truman should be deployed in the Middle East for at least four months, in the meantime, the aging Nimitz will complete a series of training missions and joint exercises overseas before heading to the Middle East to replace the Truman. And now the Truman’s unexpected damage means that there will be a brief“Window” for the US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. If the Nimitz is needed to make an early trip to the Middle East, the US Navy’s plans for global deployment will also be disrupted.
Close-up of the damaged platform at the rear of the lift.
On-duty personnel should be on constant watch
The Stars and Stripes acknowledges that aircraft carrier collisions are rare and that the last time a similar incident occurred in the US Navy was in July 2004, the aircraft carrier Kennedy, then deployed in the Persian Gulf, collided with a sailboat at night. U. S. netizens on social media for the“Truman” aircraft carrier collision with the cargo ship criticism, “Allowing civilian ships so close to the U. S. aircraft carrier, itself is very dangerous.
Experts said that judging from the damage caused by the collision between the two ships, it is more likely that the cargo ship collided with the US aircraft carrier. But U. S. aircraft carriers are equipped with full sea surveillance radar, especially in the passing ships frequent waters, there should be more than one person on duty to keep watch. So when a cargo ship gets close enough, a U. S. carrier should sound the alarm and have a chance to respond. But in recent years, the U. S. Navy vessels repeatedly collision accident shows that the U. S. Navy crew training is seriously insufficient, and even dereliction of duty. For example, in June 2017, the USS F. Scott Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine container ship, killing seven American sailors, and on August 21, another destroyer, the USS mccain, collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Singapore, killing 10 sailors and injuring five. After the investigation showed that these two serious accidents are crew did not strictly abide by the provisions of the navigation operation. For the same reason, the U. S. “Connecticut” nuclear submarine in the South China Sea in 2021, “Submarine collision”, the ship commander was fired.