U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Involved in Collision with Cargo Ship

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier collided with a large cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea this week, raising serious questions about naval operations near one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

According to a statement from the U.S. Sixth Fleet, the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) struck the merchant vessel Besiktas-M late on the night of February 12 while operating near Port Said, Egypt, at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal.

• No injuries or flooding were reported aboard the $10 billion nuclear-powered carrier.

• The ship’s propulsion system remains fully operational, ensuring no immediate threat to its mission.

• An official investigation has been launched to determine what led to the incident.

The Besiktas-M, a 550-foot bulk carrier weighing 53,000 tons, had just exited the Suez Canal and was en route to Constanta, Romania, in the Black Sea. While the ship’s owner has yet to issue a statement, the full extent of the damage remains unclear.

Collisions involving U.S. aircraft carriers are exceedingly rare, but not unheard of. The last time a carrier struck a merchant vessel was in 2004, when the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) hit a small ship in the Persian Gulf.

The USS Harry S. Truman, commissioned in 1998, was built during the Clinton administration for $4.5 billion a price tag that would exceed $10 billion today. The carrier had recently departed Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia for deployment under U.S. Central Command operations.

While the collision did not compromise the ship’s mission, it raises serious concerns about navigation protocols in congested waters, especially at a time when global maritime security remains a top priority.

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