The fleet oiler assigned to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group was damaged off the coast Oman in the Arabian Sea on Monday, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News.
USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198) was anchored off the coast of Oman after suffering an underwater allision to the stern of the oiler, the official told USNI News. The Navy now plans to use tugs to move the oiler to a nearby port.
“USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198), a replenishment oiler, sustained damage while operating at sea in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations overnight on Sept. 23. All crew members are currently safe and U.S. 5th Fleet is assessing the situation,” according to a statement from a Navy official provided to USNI News.
There are no reports of injuries or fuel leaks from Big Horn, two Navy officials told USNI News on Tuesday.
It’s not looking good. I’ve been told by a shipowner the Navy does not have a spare oiler to deploy and is scrambling to find a commercial oil tanker to refuel the Abraham Lincoln carrier group.
Updates over at gCaptain forum: https://t.co/nNG6uSYGJJ https://t.co/wGP2GTYyAw pic.twitter.com/ec2oN3CpSf
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) September 24, 2024
Officials did not detail the circumstances of the allision, but the incident occurred in a part of the Arabian Sea that can be crowded with small fishing boats and vessels that can make maneuvering a ship as large as the 42,000-ton oiler difficult. It’s unclear if Big Horn ran aground or struck an object underwater.
A report at the maritime news site gCaptain published photos and video of a flooded engineering space and a ruptured rudder post that users said were from Monday’s Big Horn incident. A defense official confirmed the accuracy of the photos to USNI News on Tuesday.
Big Horn was the only dedicated oiler operating in the Middle East to provide the fuel for air wing aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and the escorts assigned to the strike group, USNI News understands. The service has other options for fuel including U.S. allies and commercial tankers.
