U.S. Aircraft Carrier Collides with Merchant Ship in Mediterranean Sea
By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – The USS Harry Truman collided with a merchant ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt, on Wednesday evening.
No injuries or ship flooding have been reported by Navy officials.
The U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs released a statement confirming the collision involved the merchant vessel Besiktas-M.
According to the Sixth Fleet’s statement, “The collision did not endanger the Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) as there are no reports of flooding or injuries. The propulsion plants are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition. The incident is under investigation.”
Port Said is located at the entrance to the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean. Navy officials have not disclosed if the 100,000-ton nuclear-powered carrier was transiting the canal at the time of the collision, which occurred at around 11:45 p.m. local time.
The Truman, homeported in Norfolk, Va., deployed in September 2024 and, according to the ship’s social media, most recently held a port visit in Greece. The ship has a crew of approximately 5,000 sailors and Marines.
In the summer of 2017, the Navy experienced two ship collisions between two merchant ships, both occurring in the Seventh Fleet’s area of responsibility.
In June 2017, the USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), a destroyer, collided with the ACX Crystal, a Philippine-flagged container ship just over 60 miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, home of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet. The collision resulted in the deaths of seven sailors. Several factors were blamed for the collision, including lack of communication and crew fatigue.
In August 2017, the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), a destroyer, collided with the Alnic MC, a Liberian-flagged tanker, off the coast of Singapore. The collision resulted in the deaths of 10 sailors. The primary cause for that collision was blamed on “insufficient training, inadequate bridge operating procedures,” and lack of operational oversight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.