USS Harry Truman collision damage revealed in new photos as the aircraft carrier returns to port for repairs

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is undergoing repairs after it collided with a merchant vessel last week in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the United States Navy. Images of the ship show damages to parts of its exterior, including a storage room wall, a maintenance area and an overhanging deck at the rear, called a fantail.

Navy officials said the USS Truman arrived Sunday at a support site in Souda Bay, Greece, where emergency repairs began on its starboard quarter, which is the right rear section of the ship opposite port. 

“Damage assessed includes the exterior wall of two storage rooms and a maintenance space,” wrote U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa in a social media post Sunday morning. “External to the ship, damage assessed includes a line handling space, the fantail, and the platform above one of the storage spaces.”

An aircraft elevator near that section of the Truman was not damaged and remains fully operational, the Navy added.

“While the ship is fully mission capable and the ship conducted flight operations following the collision, pulling into port for emergent repairs will enable the ship to continue deployment as scheduled,” said Capt. Dave Snowden, the ship’s commanding officer, in a statement.

The carrier was in the eastern Mediterranean late Wednesday when the collision happened near Port Said, Egypt, Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, a spokesperson for the 6th Fleet, said in a statement. Its strike group had been deployed for about two months of combat operations in U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, which includes parts of the Middle East, according to the 2nd Fleet.

An investigation into the collision launched last week. A Navy official told CBS News Thursday that an assessment had not yet been made as to which vessel caused the incident. No injuries were reported in the collision.

According to the Navy, the USS Harry S. Truman is the branch’s ninth nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and was launched on Sept. 13, 1996. The 1,092-foot-long ship can travel over 30 knots per hour, can carry about 90 aircraft and can accommodate more than 6,000 crew members.