The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier was involved in a collision with a merchant vessel in the Egyptian city of Port Said in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, a US Navy spokesman said on Thursday.
Panamanian-flagged cargo ship
According to reports , the Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) struck the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship Besiktas-M late at night on February 12 .(IMO 9291365, MMSI 355801000)Â
The cause of the collision was not clear
The cause of the collision was not clear, but a US Navy spokesman said it did not cause any water leaks or injuries to personnel on board the aircraft carrier, which has a crew of 5,000 sailors, according to sources.and that the propulsion engines on board the carrier were unaffected and “in stable condition.”
Incidents involving large ships were extremely rare.
Reports added that a statement from the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet, confirming that the 100,000-tonne aircraft carrier collided with the 53,000-tonne merchant vessel. It was also reported that such incidents involving large ships were extremely rare.The US Navy assured the media that the ship’s propulsion systems remained unaffected, safe and stable. Authorities stated that the cause of the collision is under investigation
Details would be released
An investigation is underway to determine how the aircraft carrier collided with the ship, but the official noted that the area they were in near the Suez Canal is usually congested with ships.
The US Navy statement said, “The aircraft carrier collided with the merchant ship Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time on February 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea. The incident is under investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available.”
A Business Insider report quoted Commander Timothy Gorman, a spokesperson for the Sixth Fleet, confirming that further details would be released as the investigation progresses.
