Map Tracks US Aircraft Carrier Heading Toward Middle East
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was tracked leaving the western Pacific Ocean as it transited toward the Indian Ocean, indicating a possible deployment to the Middle East.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. Seventh Fleet, which maintains the country's naval presence in the western Pacific and the Indian Oceans, for comment.
Why It Matters
The U.S. Navy has redeployed a number of warships, including the Nimitz's sister ship, the USS Carl Vinson, from the western Pacific Ocean to the Middle East amid tensions between the U.S. and Iran, as well as the now-halted combat operations against the Houthis in Yemen.
The Nimitz, the oldest American aircraft carrier in active service, was dispatched from its home port on the U.S. West Coast for a scheduled western Pacific deployment in March. It has been operating in the contested South China Sea since earlier this month.
The re-tasking of U.S. naval ships assigned to the western Pacific theater comes as China—now possessing the world's largest navy by hull count, with more than 370 vessels—expands its military reach and presence in the region, attempting to challenge American naval dominance.
What To Know
Open-source data from the website MarineTraffic shows that the Nimitz was last tracked in the Strait of Malacca on Sunday, heading from the South China Sea toward the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean. The aircraft carrier is now listed as "out of range" and cannot be tracked.
The U.S. aircraft carrier was photographed by a ship spotter in Singapore as it passed through the Singapore Strait the previous day, following operations in the South China Sea.
Photos released by the U.S. Navy also show USS Gridley, a destroyer assigned to the carrier strike group led by the Nimitz, transiting the Strait of Malacca. The Gridley was on a scheduled deployment in the Seventh Fleet's operating area, according to a photo caption.
While the Nimitz left the western Pacific Ocean, its sister ship, the USS George Washington, remained at its home port in Yokosuka, Japan, as of Monday, according to a local government website that tracks visits by U.S. nuclear-powered naval ships to Yokosuka.
In addition to the Carl Vinson, a second U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, was sent to the Middle East, where it has been operating in the Red Sea. A satellite image shows the Harry S. Truman transiting the Suez Canal in Egypt on Saturday on a northward voyage.
The aircraft carrier completed its canal transit as it was operating in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday, supporting U.S. naval forces in Europe, according to photos released by the U.S. Navy. It was not clear whether its sister ship, the Carl Vinson, remained in the Middle East.
🇺🇸Carrier Strike Group 8🇺🇸
Unsurprisingly, USS Harry S Truman, USS Stout & USS Gettysburg transited the Suez NB the morning of 17 May 2025
They will join USS Dunham and USNS Arctic in the Med, both of which transited NB on 16 May 2025@Schizointel @sentdefender pic.twitter.com/MwtzlrXMJM — MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) May 17, 2025
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Seventh Fleet previously told Newsweek: "The [Nimitz Carrier Strike Group], with its accompanying carrier air wing and surface combatants, provides presence and combat-ready forces to the theater. Assets assigned to U.S. [Seventh] Fleet operate alongside allies and partners every day to deter aggression and maintain security in the Indo-Pacific."
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a May 5 news release: "Freedom of navigation is basic; it's a core national interest. The minute the Houthis say, 'We'll stop shooting at your ships [and] we'll stop shooting at your drones,' this campaign will end, but until then, it will be unrelenting."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Pentagon will sustain its naval presence in the Middle East by deploying two aircraft carriers—the Nimitz and the Carl Vinson—simultaneously.
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