As reported by Escenario Mundial, the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) was at the center of yesterday’s events, February 13, when the United States Navy confirmed that the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier had collided with a merchant vessel while operating in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the official statement issued by the U.S. Sixth Fleet, the aircraft carrier collided with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M on February 12 at 11:46 PM local time while operating near the port of Said, Egypt.
Naval authorities quickly indicated that there were no reports of significant damage or flooding that could affect the various systems of the aircraft carrier, particularly highlighting the nuclear propulsion systems that power the USS Harry S. Truman. The official statement concluded by stating that the incident on February 12 is under investigation.
However, specialized U.S. media outlets such as The War Zone conducted follow-up inquiries to provide further details on the damage sustained by the aircraft carrier. While sources were reluctant to disclose more information, they indicated that the collision with the Besiktas-M caused damage above the waterline of the USS Harry S. Truman. They also noted that none of the aircraft belonging to the carrier’s embarked air wing were damaged.
Although no official images or videos of the collision were released, as is often the case with such incidents, images of the damage sustained by the Besiktas-M after the collision with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier began circulating yesterday. The viral images, taken by the merchant vessel’s crew, suggest that the impact may have occurred on the starboard bow section. According to user Sal Mercogliano on the social network X (formerly Twitter), “…the mooring line spool was dislodged, and there was damage to the coaming of the forward starboard hatch.”
Finally, as previously reported, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) had been operating in Mediterranean waters since early February, following 50 days of operations in the Middle East. It was accompanied by the destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) and had made a port call in Souda Bay, Greece.
This situation has caused some concern, as the U.S. Navy once again finds itself without the presence of one of its aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean. While Israel and the terrorist group Hamas have reached a ceasefire, other Iran-backed proxy groups, such as the Houthi rebels, could still pose a threat to commercial shipping routes passing through the Red Sea.
Update:
Following the events in the Mediterranean, the United States Sixth Fleet released the first official images of the damage sustained by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
The caption of the image stated:
“Exterior damage of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) viewed from a ship’s rigid-hull inflatable boat following a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M on February 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt. USS Harry S. Truman, the flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG), is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations, supporting U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa to defend U.S., Allied, and partner interests.”
Cover photo used for illustrative purposes.
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