The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is leaving the fight with Iran and heading back to port, a US official familiar with the matter said, after a fire broke out in its laundry area and left at least two sailors with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Ford would travel from its current location in the Red Sea to Souda Bay, on the Greek island of Crete, according to the official, who asked not to be identified discussing movements that were not public. The ship had stopped in Souda Bay in late February on its way to the Red Sea.
A spokesperson for the US Navy declined to comment on the carrier’s condition or whether the guided-missile destroyers that accompany the Ford would stay on in the region. A defence official who also asked not to be identified said the Ford’s carrier strike group would continue to operate in the Red Sea.
The United States has carried out strikes against more than 7,000 targets since it started operations against Iran on February 28.
The departure of the Ford leaves the bulk of the aerial campaign from sea to the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group. Earlier in the week, the US Navy had 12 ships, including the Lincoln and eight destroyers, in the Arabian Sea.
The US military has declined to give details about the fire that broke out aboard the Ford, a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered carrier that carries more than 4,000 people. The New York Times reported that sailors needed more than 30 hours to put out the fire and more than 600 crew had lost their bunk space.
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