9/25/2024–|Last update: 9/25/202409:50 PM (Makkah Time)
The USNS Big Horn, a ship supplying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group with fuel, sustained significant damage after running aground off the coast of Oman on Monday.
CBS News quoted US officials as saying that the damage to the USNS Big Horn was severe enough to cause the ship to partially submerge.
She added that she was taken by tugboats to the port for a full assessment of her condition.
The American network indicated that there were no reports of injuries or fuel leakage from the Big Horn.
The damage to the USNS Big Horn comes after the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had refueled and remained in the region amid heightened tensions over Israel’s ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
CNN quoted a US Navy official as saying that the USNS Big Horn was damaged after it was refueling and supplying naval ships operating in the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers.
The maritime official did not mention where the accident occurred or the type of damage to the supply ship, but he indicated that all members of the ship’s crew were fine, stressing that it was too early to speculate on the details of the accident or its causes.
According to the American network, the aircraft carrier group “USS Abraham Lincoln” was operating in and around the Gulf of Oman, in an attempt to send a deterrent message to Iran.
Although this aircraft carrier is nuclear-powered and does not require refueling, the other ships in the strike group, and the aircraft aboard Lincoln, require fossil fuel to operate on long deployments abroad.