US aircraft carrier collides with cargo ship

USS Harry S. Truman’s nuclear propulsion systems are “safe and stable,” according to the US Navy.

The USS Harry S. Truman, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, collided with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M in the Mediterranean Sea late Wednesday night, according to US Navy officials.

The incident occurred at approximately 11:46pm local time near Port Said, Egypt. No injuries or flooding were reported on the Truman, and its nuclear propulsion systems “are unaffected and in a safe and stable condition,” the US Navy emphasized in its statement. An investigation into the collision is currently underway.

The Besiktas-M, a bulk carrier measuring over 188 meters in length with a deadweight of 53,000 tons, had recently transited the Suez Canal and was en route to the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, at the time of the collision. The USS Harry S. Truman, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, had just completed a port call in Souda Bay, Greece, prior to the incident.

The USS Harry S. Truman, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, was deployed to the Mediterranean in September 2024 to protect American “national interests” in the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region. The vessel, which carries a crew of approximately 5,000, has been involved in various operations, including multiple missile strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

This collision is the latest in a series of maritime incidents involving US Navy vessels. In 2017, the USS Fitzgerald collided with the container ship ACX Crystal off the coast of Japan, resulting in the death of seven sailors. Later that year, the USS John S. McCain was involved in a collision with the tanker Alnic MC near Singapore which killed ten sailors.

In another notable incident, the USS Connecticut, a Seawolf-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, collided with an uncharted underwater mountain in the South China Sea on October 2, 2021, according to a US Navy investigation. The collision resulted in injuries to 11 crew members and significant damage to the submarine’s forward section. The US Navy has faced scrutiny over these incidents, prompting investigations into operational protocols and training procedures to prevent future incidents.

Image credit: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class John L. Beeman