Currently, the ship has been at sea for 10 months.
The recent fire aboard the world's largest U.S. aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, had to be battled for over 30 hours, sailors and military officials told The New York Times (NYT) on condition of anonymity. Despite the incident and the loss of sleeping quarters for 600 sailors, the ship continued to participate in operations against Iran.
U.S. Central Command reported that the fire originated in the ship's main laundry facilities, and its cause was not related to combat operations. At least two people were injured as a result of the incident.
"Currently, two sailors are receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Red Sea as part of Operation Epic Fury," the statement said.
According to officials, by the time the fire was extinguished, more than 600 out of 4,600 sailors and crew members had lost their sleeping accommodations and were forced to sleep on the floor and tables, NYT clarifies.
The laundry has yet to resume operations, which sources told the publication was an "inconvenient but not deadly" consequence of the incident. Dozens of people also inhaled smoke during the fire, witnesses added.
The fire was not the only problem for the carrier recently. Earlier, as noted by NPR, sailors faced inconveniences due to sewage issues.
"Aboard the carrier, the crew is struggling with a problematic toilet system that, according to the Government Accountability Office's report published in 2020, was designed for a lower load and poorly engineered. The system continues to malfunction during deployment, causing the crew of 4,600 sailors to endure breakdowns for months," NPR notes.
The carrier and its accompanying destroyers need maintenance as they have been at sea since June, The Washington Post (WP) reports. Initially, the strike group was directed to Europe, but it was later redeployed to the Caribbean to support the campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America and operations to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
"Last month, when U.S. President Donald Trump was trying to pressure Iran to roll back its nuclear program, the Pentagon extended the Ford's time at sea and sent it back across the Atlantic to the Middle East. At that time, the carrier and escort ships had been at sea for nearly eight months," WP emphasizes.
Currently, the carrier has been at sea for 10 months. If it is still there by mid-April, the ship will break the record for the longest time at sea since the Vietnam War, NYT specifies. This record of 294 days was previously set by the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2020.
As RTVI.US reported, U.S. command previously mocked Iran's claims on social media that the USS Abraham Lincoln could have been hit or destroyed during military operations.
