Two crew members on the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier deployed for Operation Epic Fury — were injured Thursday in a laundry room fire, the US Navy said.
“Two sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition,” a statement from US Naval Forces Central Command said. The Navy said the fire, originating “in the ship’s main laundry,” was “not combat-related and is contained.”
“On March 12, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) experienced a fire that originated in the ship’s main laundry spaces,” reads a U.S. Central Command statement posted to social media website X. “The cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained. 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. Additional information will be provided when available.”
The Navy said the USS Ford is now in the Red Sea as part of Operation Epic Fury. “There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational,” the statement said.
The laundry incident was not the first mishap reported from the nuclear-powered carrier, which was deployed to the Middle East after a months-long mission in the Caribbean that culminated with the “extraction” of Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro.
Meanwhile, there were also reports that USS Ford’s toilets were malfunctioning and clogging due to misuse by sailors.
According to WSJ, repeated clogging has triggered sewage system breakdowns across the warship. For sailors on board, this has meant long lines and limited access to working restrooms. Crew members are said to be waiting more than 45 minutes just to use the toilet.
The issue reportedly began in January when the aircraft carrier was deployed to the Caribbean. Since June last year, the USS Ford has remained continuously at sea, which could have impacted its maintenance.
The issue is not new — a 2020 report from the US Government Accountability Office said the ship’s toilet system was subject to “unexpected and frequent clogging” and requires acid flushes on a regular basis to clear it, at a cost of $400,000 each time.
The Navy acknowledged the reports of toilet problems in a statement, but cited ship leadership as saying that “clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime.”
The USS Ford was scheduled for a major maintenance and refitting period at the Newport News Naval Shipyard in Virginia early this year. Since it’s now deployed for the war in Iran, this delay means not only will USS Ford and its crew members have to live with some maintenance issues.
Earlier, an official told the New York Times that the USS Ford was expected to receive key modifications to one of the systems used to land aircraft on its deck. Those modifications have been planned for the past eight years, among the ship’s many other upgrades that can be completed only at an industrial repair facility.
Vice Adm. Mike Franken (R) said the type of maintenance period the Ford is scheduled for after this deployment would probably take four to six months in a shipyard. Delaying that maintenance by extending the carrier’s deployment would lead to spiraling costs that the president and defense secretary probably have not considered. “You plan better for this,” Admiral Franken said in an interview.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
The ship is the first Ford-class carrier — a new design that will gradually replace older Nimitz-class ships — and its commissioning was attended by Trump in 2017. The $13-billion vessel embarked on its first deployment in 2022, five years after its launch.
The carrier — powered by two nuclear reactors — displaces 100,000 long tons when fully loaded, is more than 1,100 feet (335 meters) long, and can sail at more than 34 miles (55 kilometers) per hour.
The ship is crewed by more than 4,000 sailors, carries dozens of warplanes, and is currently accompanied by three guided missile destroyers.
The Ford spent about three months in the Caribbean before Trump ordered it to sail for the Middle East earlier this month as tensions with Iran increased.
It entered the Mediterranean on February 20, then sailed to the Greek island of Crete, where it took on food, fuel, and ammunition at Souda Bay before departing. It was later spotted at the Israeli port city of Haifa. The USS Ford is presently in the Red Sea, while USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea.
Whether the pride of the US Navy—the $13-billion USS Gerald R. Ford —will encounter more incidents due to mounting maintenance challenges remains to be seen, but the signs are concerning amid its grueling, extended deployment in support of Operation Epic Fury.
By ET Online Desk and AFP
