A fire onboard the USS Gerald R Ford, injuring sailors and destroying 100 beds, is the latest mishap to plague the world’s largest aircraft carrier on a marathon deployment some argue has sapped crew morale.
At sea for almost nine months, and currently stationed in the Red Sea to support the war on Iran, the carrier will reportedly set sail for Crete for repairs.
The length of the deployment has raised questions about morale of the sailors on board and the readiness of the warship.
Officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, did not say how long the $13bn vessel was expected to remain in Crete.
One of the officials said nearly 200 sailors were treated for smoke-related injuries when the fire broke out in the ship’s main laundry area. The fire took hours to bring under control and had an impact on roughly 100 sleeping berths.
One service member was flown off the ship with injuries, the official said. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Times reported two sailors received treatment for “non-life-threatening injuries”, citing the US military’s Central Command. After the fire initially broke out, the US military had said that there was no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant and the aircraft carrier was fully operational.
The carrier, crewed by more than 4,000 sailors, has reportedly suffered significant problems with its toilet system while at sea, with US media describing clogged systems and long lines for restrooms on the ship.
The issue is not new – a 2020 report from the US Government Accountability Office said the ship’s toilet system was subject to “unexpected and frequent clogging” and requires acid flushes on a regular basis to clear it, at a cost of $400,000 each time.
The Navy acknowledged the reports of toilet problems in a statement last month, but cited ship leadership as saying that “clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime”.
Senator Mark Warner, the vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday sharply criticised the extended deployment of the ship.
“The Ford and its crew have been pushed to the brink after nearly a year at sea, and they have been paying the price for President Donald Trump’s reckless military decisions,” he said in a statement.
In a statement to the Guardian last month, the Navy said its operations “in dynamic environments requires immense dedication” from all sailors, “who consistently demonstrate their commitment to the mission”. It added maintenance demands on the ship “have decreased as the deployment has progressed”.
The withdrawal of the Ford would leave a significant gap in US forces in the region, where the dozens of warplanes it carries have taken part in strikes against Iran.
But the New York Times, which first reported the extent of the fire damage, quoted a military official saying the Ford will probably be relieved by another carrier – the USS George HW Bush – which is preparing to deploy to the Middle East.
The US has carried out strikes against more than 7,000 targets since it started operations against Iran on 28 February.
The Ford carries more than 75 military aircraft, including F-18 Super Hornets, and operates a sophisticated radar system to control air traffic and navigation.
Prior to its Middle East deployment, the carrier took part in US operations in the Caribbean, where US forces carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, interdicted sanctioned tankers and seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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