The U.S. Navy announced Thursday, February 13, that the USS Harry S. Truman, currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, was involved in a collision with a bulk carrier near the Egyptian port located at the entrance to the Suez Canal. According to the U.S. Navy, the collision did not endanger the aircraft carrier.
“The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant ship Besiktas M at approximately 23:46 local time on February 12 while operating near Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea,” the US Navy said, stressing that the collision, the circumstances of which are not yet known, did not appear to be serious: “The collision did not endanger the Harry S. Truman. No flooding or injuries were reported. Propulsion systems are unaffected and are in a safe and stable condition. Although there was no water ingress, it is not known whether the ship’s hull or systems were damaged.
Having left Aqaba (Jordan), north of the Red Sea, on February 10, the Besiktas M had just crossed the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean to continue its route towards the Turkish Straits in order to reach the port of Constanta (Romania), in the Black Sea, where it was expected on February 18. It was clearly shortly after leaving the canal that this bulk carrier, 188 meters long by 32 meters wide and 53,000 deadweight tons, registered in Panama, collided with the USS Harry S. Truman.
The imposing American aircraft carrier, 333 meters long and with a fully loaded displacement of more than 100,000 tons, left its base in Norfolk on September 23. After crossing the Atlantic, it first evolved in Northern Europe in October before reaching the Mediterranean in November. Crossing the Suez Canal, it had sailed in December in the Red Sea, where one of its escorts, the cruiser USS Gettysburg, had mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the aircraft carrier, mistaken for a hostile drone while the American armada was engaged in raids against the Yemeni Houthi rebels. In January, the USS Harry S. Truman and its escort returned to position themselves in the eastern Mediterranean.
This aircraft carrier group is part of the American military assets positioned in the region following the war between Israel and Hamas.
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