Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68), along with destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), docked at the Port Klang Cruise Terminal (PKCT), Malaysia, on Wednesday morning, according to a social media post by the Royal Malaysian Navy’s National Hydrographic Centre.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s launch of a second 5,000-ton destroyer failed on Wednesday due to a “serious accident,” according to state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was watching the launch, calling the incident a criminal act.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) consists of Nimitz and destroyers Curtis Wilbur, USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123) and USS Gridley (DDG-101). Gridley was operating in the Malacca Strait as of May 17 based on a Pentagon imagery release. Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee is anchored around the Malaysian island of Langkawi, taking part in the Langkawi International and Maritime Aviation (LIMA) 2025 Exhibition, which runs until Saturday. Nimitz also participated in the show with its embarked aircraft with two F/A-18E Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137 “Kestrels” and one MH-60R from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49 “BattleCats” on static display, while two more FA-18Es flew in the aerial demonstration, according to a Navy release.
“Our participation in this dynamic showcase of multinational strength is a testament to our ability to operate cohesively across a challenging and evolving maritime landscape,” said Rear Adm. Fred Goldhammer, commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, in the release.
Nimitz’s arrival at PKCT comes a few days before Malaysia, as ASEAN Chair for 2025, hosts the ASEAN Summit in the nearby capital of Kuala Lumpur from May 26-27. The U.S. Navy has not disclosed how long Nimitz will be at PKCT, though a normal port visit is 4-5 days,which means the carrier should depart just before the summit begins.
The port visit marks the third U.S. carrier strike group visit to PKCT in the past six months beginning with the Abraham Lincoln CSG on Nov. 23-27 2024, followed by the Carl Vinson CSG from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2. Prior to the Abraham Lincoln CSG’s visit, carrier visit to the cruise terminal had been on hiatus for 12 years owing to a combination of the fallout from Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis’s arrest and later due to the lack of a husbanding company able to support a CSG visit and as well as COVID-19 restrictions.
North Korea’s latest naval destroyer has been significantly damaged prior to its launch. In a rare acknowledgment, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported yesterday an incident occurred with a new destroyer in Chongjin, which was close to being launched. pic.twitter.com/0PfuqehYnF
— Open Source Centre (@osc_london) May 22, 2025
On Thursday, North Korean state media KCNA reported that on Wednesday, during the launch of a newly built destroyer at the Chongjin Naval Shipyard, the stern of the ship moved first and became stuck while the flatcar failed to move in parallel. Some sections of the warship’s bottom were crushed, leading to the destroyer being unbalanced with the bow unable to leave the shipway.
The destroyer, believed to be from the same class as the earlier Choe Hyon (51), launched at the end of April, was being launched in a sideways manner. Satellite imagery posted by Open Source Center showed the destroyer now covered in tarpaulin and apparently lying on its side in the water with parts of it submerged.
KCNA reported North Korea leader Kim said the incident wascaused by carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism and could not be tolerated. Kim warned that those responsible for the accident would have to be dealt with at the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee to be convened in June.
On Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced it had detected several unidentified cruise missiles from North Korea around 9 a.m. in the vicinity of Seondeok in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. “The detailed specifications are being analyzed by the U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies,” stated the release.
Meanwhile in the East China Sea, amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) is in the East China Sea conducting flight operations with F-35B Lightning II fighters of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242, based on a Pentagon imagery release. America left Sasebo, Japan on Monday, its final departure from there as the forward-deployed amphibious big deck warship in Japan, with sister ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) replacing it.
