America's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is pulling away from the Middle East region as it nears a record-long deployment and after it suffered a major fire which damaged living quarters and other areas.
Bloomberg reports in a fresh update Wednesday, "The US Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier is retreating from the Red Sea after a fire broke out in its laundry room, scuttling plans for the 100,000-ton nuclear-powered vessel to project power in the war with Iran."
It is planning to temporarily pull back into Crete in the southern Mediterranean, and hopefully outside the reach of Iran's feared long-range ballistic missiles. The Ford had already docked there in late February after being called from Caribbean operations into the CENTCOM region of responsibility.
"Following the incident, which left at least two of the ship's 4,000 crew members with non-life-threatening injuries, the USS Gerald R. Ford will travel to the Greek island of Crete, according to a US official familiar with the matter," Bloomberg continues.
Bloomberg concludes, "The incident underscores how even the Navy’s most advanced assets are under strain as the US expands its military endeavors. The Ford — the most expensive warship ever built — has spent months beyond a standard deployment at sea."
The fire occurred last week, raising immediate questions of whether it was hit by an Iranian drone or missile attack, as Tehran has claimed, amid Pentagon insistence that it was none of these - but just an accidental fire.
There are also widespread rumors, speculation and claims that sailors actually set the fire themselves, in order to sabotage and derail the much longer than expected deployment.
The Ford's time at sea is entering ten months. The crew has reportedly been informed that they will be deployed into May, which would make an entire year at sea, after the prior Caribbean stint focused on the Venezuela anti-Maduro operation.
The NY Times says this marks twice the length of a normal carrier deployment - one wrought with extreme difficulties and a major emergency, as the report details:
It took more than 30 hours for sailors to put out the fire aboard the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford last week, sailors and military officials said, as the beleaguered ship continued its monthslong slog through President Trump’s military operations.
The fire started in the ship’s main laundry area last Thursday. By the time it was over, more than 600 sailors and crew members had lost their beds and have since been bunking down on floors and tables, officials said.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said two sailors received treatment for “non-life-threatening injuries.” People on the ship reported that dozens of service members suffered smoke inhalation.
CENTCOM has said that the fire caused "no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational."
The nuclear-powered vessel has indeed been running around the clock fighter jet operations connected to Operation Epic Fury, amid ongoing heavy aerial bombardment of Iranian cities.