The U.S. Navy reported on Thursday that the USS Harry S. Truman, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, collided with a large cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week. The incident occurred around 11:46 p.m. local time on February 12, near Port Said, Egypt, according to a statement from the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
The Navy confirmed that the collision did not pose a threat to the USS Harry S. Truman, noting there were no indications of flooding or injuries among the crew. Additionally, the carrier's propulsion systems remain unaffected and in stable condition. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision has been initiated, with further details to be released as they become available.
The USS Harry S. Truman, commissioned in the 1990s during the Clinton administration, is an eighth vessel in the Nimitz-class of aircraft carriers and was built at a cost of approximately $4.5 billion—equivalent to over $10 billion today. The carrier had recently deployed from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, to serve in the U.S. Central Command region.
Reports indicate that the vessel involved in the collision, the Besiktas-M, is a bulk carrier over 550 feet long and weighing 53,000 tons. It had recently transited the Suez Canal and was heading towards the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, at the time of the incident.
This collision marks a significant event, as it is the first incident of a U.S. aircraft carrier colliding with a merchant vessel since 2004, when the USS John F. Kennedy encountered a similar situation in the Persian Gulf.