13-02-2025
Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman Collides With Merchant Ship (Updated)
Details are still emerging, but the U.S. Navy supercarrier USS Harry S. Truman has collided with a merchant vessel identified as the Besiktas-M in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt's Port Said.
The U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet has put out the following statement:
'The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Feb. 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea.'
'The collision did not endanger the Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) as there are no reports of flooding or injuries. The propulsion plants are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition. The incident is under investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available.'
The current status of the Besiktas-M and its crew is not entirely clear.
'The other ship sustained damage above the waterline, but it continued on its own power,' a U.S. Navy official told TWZ. 'The Truman was preparing to transit south into the Suez Canal. No damage to the nuclear power plant.'
We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.
Update: 1:45 PM EST –
The Besiktas-M has been now further identified as a Panamanian-flagged bulk cargo ship, according to online ship tracking site Vessel Tracker. The 618-foot (188.5-meter) long Besiktas-M had been heading north after leaving the port of Aqaba in Jordan with its stated destination being Constanta in Romania on the Black Sea.
Current positions for the Besiktas-M and CVN-75 (highlighted) via @MarineTraffic Source-
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 13, 2025
Vessel Tracker also says that Besiktas-M was involved in a previous collision with another commercial ship, the Common Spirit, near Chittagong in Bangladesh in 2016, in which both vessels were damaged.
It has also been pointed out that collisions involving U.S. Navy carriers are rare in large part because they typically sail at the center of a carrier strike group. However, all ships have to pass single-file through the Suez Canal.
US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier has collided with a 618' Panamanian reports of flooding or fire—a very good collisions are rare since they sail at the center of a battle group. But this one happened at the entrance to the Suez Canal where they have to…
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) February 13, 2025
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