Videos released by a sailor on the US Navy aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln showed grey sludge coming from drinking fountains and sinks aboard the ship just days after officials determined the vessel’s drinking water was contaminated with bilge water.
Insider obtained the video and spoke with a sailor, whose name was omitted from the article to protect them from possible retaliation.
A sailor who spoke to the outlet said "it was horrible" and explained that water used by sailors to bathe, drink, and cook sometimes appeared "black."
In the video shared by one of the sailors, a colleague can be heard saying the water smelled "like s***."
The sailors first noticed that the water had taken on a strange odor and a "cloudy appearance" on 21 September while it was underway, according to a statement from the Navy released earlier in October. Testing was done the next day and found E Coli bacteria present in a few of the vessel’s potable water tanks.
However, it was not the bacteria causing the smell and discoloration. A month after the initial discovery, the Navy announced the ship’s water supply had been polluted by bilge water, which is non-potable wastewater that collects in the bowels of the ship during its operation.
According to the sailor who spoke with Insider, some crew members developed stomach issues after drinking the water, and others experienced rashes.
The Navy said in its statement in early October that there were no signs of illness among sailors.
The sailor who spoke to Insider recalled waking up on 21 September and going to take a drink from a nearby water fountain.
"It tasted just horrible," the sailor said, saying the flavour reminded them of fuel.
As a result, the sailor thought they may have just been smelling fuel from the flight deck and incorrectly attributing it to the water.
Later that day at breakfast, the sailor said they heard other shipmates complaining about the smell and taste of the water on the ship.
They claimed the sailors’ commanding officer did not issue an announcement about the water until after everyone had already taken a shower and drank the water.
According to the sailor, their commanding officer later confirmed that there was E Coli in the drinking water, but said they were unsure if that was "good or bad." The sailor said they were never advised to avoid drinking the water.
The Navy responded to the situation by sending bottled water to the crew, but the sailor who spoke to Insider said the bottles were difficult to find and obtain.
They claimed the ship’s vending machines immediately ran out of water and were not restocked, which forced crewmembers to rely on Gatorade and soda to stay hydrated.
"Even if we opted out of not drinking water for a few days, you still can’t escape it because we still have to shower," the sailor said. "We still were eating the food … they cook everything with water."
Naval Air Forces Commander Zach Harrell told Insider that the ship was docked on 3 October in San Diego and the water supply was connected to the city’s water. He also said that the contaminated tanks were isolated.
"The three tanks that were found to have water with E. coli also contained the water with the odor and cloudiness," Naval Air Forces Cmdr. Zach Harrell told the outlet. "Those tanks were immediately isolated and secured from the potable water system."
The sailor who spoke to Insider said the Navy’s statement that no sailors became ill was not reflective of their experiences on the ship.
"I felt like we were going crazy because [the commanding officer] was sitting here telling us that there’s nothing in it, but we’re sitting here drinking it and smelling it and it just smells horrible," they said. "It’s always the mission in their mind. That’s what they say all the time. It’s always the mission that comes first to them, even if it’s putting other lives at risk."
