Crews are fighting a fire aboard a US Navy amphibious warship that's been burning for hours
Crews have been responding to the fire, a Navy spokesperson told Business Insider.
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are currently unknown.
A fire broke out aboard the US Navy amphibious warship USS New Orleans off the coast of Japan on Wednesday evening.
Navy sailors have been battling the blaze, the cause of which is unknown. A defense official told Business Insider that the fire has now been contained but is still ongoing.
The Navy first confirmed the fire on Wednesday morning. "Crews are responding to a fire aboard USS New Orleans (LPD 18) this evening, Aug. 20, (Japan Time), which is in the vicinity of Okinawa, Japan. We will provide more details are they become available," a Navy spokesperson told BI.
According to local Japanese media, Japan's Coast Guard assisted with firefighting activities around 5 pm local time. Footage from local broadcasting showed firefighting ships assisting with putting out the flames.
The USS New Orleans is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock commissioned in 2007. The warship is designed to move Marines, their gear, and aircraft like CH-46 Sea Knights and MV-22 Ospreys into combat zones. It was in the water near White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa when the fire broke out.
The Navy previously fought a vicious fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego in July 2020, an incident that saw four days of around-the-clock efforts to put out all active fires aboard the ship. That fire left 62 people — 40 sailors and 23 civilians — injured from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.
Repairs for the USS Bonhomme Richard, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, were estimated to take up to seven years and cost billions of dollars. It was ultimately decommissioned and scrapped.
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