USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) cut short an underway period and returned pierside Monday evening after experiencing issues with its seawater system, a Navy official confirmed Tuesday to USNI News.
Bush left Norfolk Naval Station on Monday with tugs and returned with tugs that evening, according to ship spotters. The ship returned under its own power, Cmdr. Dawn Stankus, a spokesperson for Naval Air Force Atlantic, told USNI News in an email.
The tugs were nearby for navigational and mooring reasons, Stankus said.
“The ship experienced an unexpected fouling of several seawater systems in the vicinity of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and the crew opted to return to Naval Station Norfolk to correct the problem,” Stankus said in her email.
The ship is currently undergoing investigations and an estimate for repairs is not currently available, she said.
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Nimitz-class aircraft carrier leaving Norfolk, Virginia with tug support, doing a 180 in the middle of the channel and heading back in. Never have seen that before and it did look intentional the whole way – any ideas? – February 3, 2025… pic.twitter.com/mJvkB59coK
— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) February 4, 2025
Ship spotters saw the carrier head out from its berth at Naval Station Norfolk, down the James River and into the Chesapeake Bay, but turned around and headed back to the pier with the tug escort.
Bush completed a 10-month availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in November and is in the workup process to prepare for its next deployment.
The carrier, the embarked Carrier Air Wing 7 and its escorts wrapped an eight-month deployment on April 23, 2024. The carrier spent 230 days in the Mediterranean as part of the U.S. presence mission to deter Russia from expanding its war in Ukraine.
