This post has been updated with an additional statement from the Navy.
The commander of the aircraft carrier that collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Egypt last week has been removed from command, USNI News has learned.
Capt. Dave Snowden was removed from command of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Thursday, according to a Congressional notification reviewed by USNI News and confirmed by a Navy official.
According to the notification, Snowden was removed due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command following the Feb. 12 collision between Truman and the merchant vessel MV Besiktas-M off the coast Egypt, near the entrance to the Suez Canal.
The late night collision damaged the aircraft carrier, piercing the hull above the waterline on the starboard quarter of the ship and damaging a sponson located aft of its starboard elevator. No injuries were reported.
“Damage assessed includes the exterior wall of two storage rooms and a maintenance space. External to the ship, damage assessed includes a line handling space, the fantail and the platform above one of the storage spaces,” reads a Sunday statement from U.S. 6th Fleet.
“Aircraft elevator number three sustained no damage and is fully operational.”
The carrier, which deployed in September, is in port in Souda Bay, Greece for inspection and repairs, the service said this week.
Snowden is a 1996 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a career fighter pilot. Prior to Truman, he was Truman’s executive officer and commanded amphibious warship USS San Antonio (LPD-17).
In a staement following an earlier version of this post, the Navy said the commander of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill will command Truman in the interim.
Hill led Ike during an extended deployment to the Red Sea to support Operation Prosperity Guardian.
