New photos have been released showing the damage sustained by the USS Harry S. Truman, a US Navy aircraft carrier, following a collision with a merchant ship near the entrance to the Suez Canal. The warship has docked at a US naval facility in Souda Bay, Greece, for repairs after the incident.
The images reveal damage to the exterior starboard quarter of the 1,100-foot-long nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The affected areas include storage rooms, maintenance spaces, a line handling space, the fantail, and a platform above one of the storage spaces. Despite the damage, the Navy has confirmed that the ship's combat capability remains unaffected, and it has continued to conduct flight operations since the accident.
A team of structural engineers and naval architects is currently assessing the damage in detail and will soon implement a repair plan. However, no specific timetable for the repairs has been provided by the Navy.
The collision occurred between the USS Harry S. Truman and the Besiktas-M, a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier, in the crowded waters near the Suez Canal off Egypt's Port Said in the Mediterranean Sea. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries on either vessel, although both ships sustained damage.
Former US Navy captain Carl Schuster highlighted the challenges of navigating in restricted seaways, emphasizing the limited room for maneuvering and the critical importance of precise decision-making to avoid accidents.
Prior to the collision, the USS Harry S. Truman had been engaged in combat operations in the Central Command region, conducting strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen and launching airstrikes against ISIS in Somalia. Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, commander of the carrier strike group to which the Truman belongs, affirmed that the group remains operational and committed to addressing security challenges in the region.
