The USS Harry S. Truman warship was seen anchored in The Solent near Portsmouth, England, on October 8, 2018. Getty Images
A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier collided with a cargo ship near Port Said, Egypt, late Wednesday night. The USS Harry S. Truman, a Nimitz-class warship, struck the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at around 11:46 p.m. local time while operating in the Mediterranean Sea.
The aircraft carrier, weighing about 100,000 tons, hit the 53,000-ton Panamanian-flagged cargo ship. A U.S. official confirmed that the incident happened while the carrier was waiting to enter the Suez Canal to return to the Red Sea.
Fortunately, there were no injuries reported on either vessel. The USS Truman, which carries 5,000 crew members, did not suffer any flooding. Another U.S. official stated that the carrier sustained damage above the waterline, but the extent of the impact on its operations is still being evaluated. The Besiktas-M also suffered some damage but remained operational and continued moving under its own power.
The USS Truman is powered by two nuclear reactors and four propulsion systems. The U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet assured that the ship’s propulsion plants remained unaffected and in "a safe and stable condition." An investigation into the cause of the collision is underway.
The aircraft carrier and its strike group have been active in the Red Sea since mid-December. Their mission is to counter attacks from Houthi militants in Yemen on commercial ships passing through the area. The Truman recently stopped at a naval base in Crete, taking a short break from its intense operations. The ship's activity had slowed somewhat after Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas began in mid-January.
Houthi militants have claimed responsibility for attacking shipping vessels in the region, stating that their actions support Hamas.
