The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is shifting away from operations tied to the Iran war and crusing to the US Navy’s base in Crete for repairs after a fire broke out within the ship’s laundry space final week, a US official stated.
The motion of the Navy’s most superior aircraft carrier comes as army operations towards Iran are nonetheless in full swing, notably because the US is looking for methods to scale back Iran’s menace to delivery within the Strait of Hormuz. The carrier has served as a prepared platform for American fighter jets to take part within the marketing campaign.
The fire on March 12 was not combat-related, the US army stated on the time. Two sailors acquired medical remedy for non-life-threatening accidents and have been in secure situation.
The US official stated the Ford, which was crusing within the Red Sea, can be at Souda Bay in Crete “for a brief period to conduct repairs,” which might decide what might be fastened instantly and what might must be fastened when the ship goes again to its residence port after its deployment. The different ships throughout the Ford Carrier Strike Group are remaining the place they’re within the area and never becoming a member of the Ford at Souda Bay.
USNI News first reported that the Ford was heading to Souda Bay for repairs.
The Pentagon didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine stated Friday that the Pentagon was conscious of the fire on board the Ford.
“We’re thinking about the crew there who were injured in the fire,” Caine stated throughout a Pentagon press briefing. “We believe and hope that everyone will be OK and we’re grateful for that.”
The Ford — the Navy’s most superior aircraft carrier — has been deployed for months, first to the Caribbean as a part of the US army’s buildup within the area amid heightened tensions with Venezuela. In February, President Donald Trump stated he was sending the carrier strike group to the Middle East in a transfer to use extra stress on Iran.
The strike group entered the Mediterranean Sea in late February. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has additionally been deployed within the area.
The Ford may break a file for the longest carrier deployment post-Vietnam if it stays deployed by means of mid-April, in response to USNI News. It left for deployment to the Caribbean on June 24, 2025, in response to US Southern Command.
The fire final week adopted experiences of constant plumbing points aboard the carrier, although the Navy stated these points had no affect on the carrier’s operations.
The New York Times reported this week that it took greater than 30 hours to place out the fire, and that 600 crew members misplaced their beds. The US official stated, nevertheless, that all the effort in responding to the fire took 30 hours — placing out the fire, cleansing up water harm or different substances used to place out the fire, and making certain there have been no flare-ups — not that the fire itself burned for 30 hours.
The official additionally stated that barely greater than 100 beds have been broken within the fire, as some sleeping areas are adjoining to the laundry space. But they acknowledged roughly 600 sailors complete have been displaced from their sleeping areas or bunks. Displacement may occur as a result of their mattress particularly was impacted — beds are typically shared by service members who’re on reverse shifts — or as a result of all the area is deemed uninhabitable due to smoke or water harm to a few of the beds.
The Ford strike group consists of the carrier and its carrier air wing, in addition to Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers the USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge, and the USS Winston S. Churchill.