WASHINGTON: The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, collided with a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt, on Wednesday night, the US Navy reported on Thursday.
The incident, which occurred at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time on February 12, involved a rare collision between two large vessels.
The USS Harry S. Truman, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier weighing 100,000 tons, collided with the 53,000-ton merchant vessel Besiktas-M, which is registered under Panama’s flag. The aircraft carrier is powered by two nuclear reactors and four propulsion systems.
Despite the severity of the collision, no reports of injuries or flooding aboard the carrier were made, and the US Navy confirmed that the Truman’s propulsion plants remained unaffected and were in “a safe and stable condition.”
The collision did not cause any damage to the aircraft carrier’s nuclear propulsion systems.
The incident is currently under investigation, though the statement did not provide any information on the condition of the cargo ship, the Besiktas-M.
Commander Timothy Gorman, spokesperson for the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet, stated: “The collision did not endanger the Harry S. Truman as there are no reports of flooding or injuries. The propulsion plants are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition.”
The US Navy also confirmed that none of the crew members aboard the merchant vessel were injured, according to an unnamed defence official.
The Truman, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia, deployed in September 2024 to the Mediterranean and Middle East.
The aircraft carrier had just completed a port visit in Souda Bay, Greece, and had been operating in the region to support missions aimed at countering Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The US Navy also stated that the Truman had completed a rare port call in Crete earlier in the week.
The collision follows an incident in December 2024 when two US Navy pilots were forced to eject after an F/A-18 warplane they were flying off the Truman was mistakenly shot down by a US guided missile cruiser over the Red Sea.
The USS Harry S. Truman is part of the US Navy’s fleet deployed in the international waterways, including the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The aircraft carrier’s strike group, which typically carries a crew of 5,000 sailors, is involved in crucial operations to safeguard shipping lanes from hostile threats.
