An American aircraft carrier was involved in a collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of Egypt Wednesday.
The USS Harry S. Truman collided with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M near Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a news release from the Sixth Fleet.
The collision took place at about 11:46 p.m. local time.
The release said that there were no reports of injuries aboard the aircraft carrier, nor was there flooding.
Carrier USS HARRY S TRUMAN CVN75 has been in collision with merchant bulker BESIKTAS-M in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt, US Navy said ca 1130 EST 13 Feb. No word on extent of damage but no reports of flooding or damage and propulsion plants are unaffected pic.twitter.com/P20cyVXndf
— Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) February 13, 2025
The nuclear-powered carrier’s power plants “are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition,” according to the statement.
“The incident is under investigation,” the Navy said in its release.
According to USNI News, citing what it said was a Navy official it did not name, the carrier’s damage was above the waterline.
The merchant vessel had just exited the Suez Canal and was heading to Constanta, Romania.
Reports on the collision did not indicate the extent of damage to the vessel or whether anyone aboard it was injured.
The carrier and the USS Jason Dunham had made a port call at Greece’s Souda Bay last week.
USNI said the position of the carrier suggested it was returning to the Red Sea, where the strike group has been deployed.
American naval forces have been based in the Red Sea to respond to attacks on shipping from the Houthi rebels, who are based in Yemen.
This should be worded better. A big, huge floating island can’t turn on a dime. Sounds like the 333 meter×78 meter USS Truman got hit by a large 188 meter× 33 meter merchant ship. It happened at almost midnight, so… https://t.co/0WXjErKgeP pic.twitter.com/V11YRztcin
— BartonBella (@BartonBella1) February 13, 2025
The last time an American aircraft carrier was involved in a collision with another vessel was in 2004, when the USS John F. Kennedy struck a small craft in the Persian Gulf.
The Besiktas-M was involved in a 2016 collision with another merchant vessel off the coast of Bangladesh.
The Truman has a crew of about 5,000, according to ABC.
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