The nuclear-powered USS Gerald R. Ford, the most advanced aircraft carrier in the United States Navy and the only vessel in its class, is presently anchored in Croatia’s port of Split for repairs and maintenance. Media reports have indicated the ship is there to stay, since repairs after a major “laundry fire” and prolonged deployment could take between 12 and 14 months.
Delivered years behind schedule in May 2017, the Ford was by far the most expensive American warship ever constructed, costing $13.2 billion. The latest prolonged deployment of the ship began on June 24 and included combat operations during the US raid on Venezuela to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro, as well as in the ongoing US-Israeli attack on Iran. The supercarrier ended up hastily withdrawn from the Middle East theater in mid-March, having suffered a supposedly non-combat-related fire.
The ship briefly moored at Crete for damage assessment before heading to Croatia for maintenance. The deployment exceeded 260 days and ranks as one of the longest carrier patrols since the Vietnam War, ending on March 12 shortly after the ship transited the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea. According to official statements from US Central Command, it was then that the vessel “experienced a fire that originated in the ship’s main laundry spaces.” “The cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained.
[paywall]
There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational. Two sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition,” CENTCOM stated at the time. The incident prompted a range of speculation, with the Iranian military claiming the carrier’s laundry room was deliberately set on fire by war-weary crewmembers.
Western media reports indicated the fire raged on board for some 30 hours before being extinguished – longer than the devastating 1967 USS Forrestal carrier fire, which burned for about 24 hours. If true, it raises questions about the state of supposedly sophisticated firefighting systems on the Ford, particularly given that the Forrestal fire was aggravated by explosions of munitions stored on the flight deck and burning fuel seeping into compartments. More than 600 out of nearly 4,500 sailors, tech personnel, and pilots lost their bunks in the fire, ending up forced to sleep on tables and floors, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous crewmembers.
Moreover, the crew has been unable to do laundry since the fire, which reportedly ended up being airlifted to other ships for washing. Upon arrival in Crete last weekend, the aircraft carrier appeared to show no superficial signs of damage, apart from looking heavily weathered from its prolonged deployment all over the globe. The ship’s flight deck, however, appeared to be abnormally crowded with aircraft, potentially indicating issues with internal hangars and aircraft-lifting mechanisms. A recent assessment from the Pentagon testing office indicated that the military was somewhat aware of deeper problems with the Ford class, but even nine years after the vessel was commissioned, it still had “insufficient data” to determine its “operational suitability.”
[/paywall]
All Zim News – Bringing you the latest news and updates.
