The US Navy announced on Thursday that it had relieved the commander of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman of his duty after it collided with a commercial ship in the Mediterranean Sea near the entrance to the Suez Canal in Egypt, CNN Arabic reported on Friday.
Captain Dave Snowden, who has held the position since December 2023, was commanding the aircraft carrier when it collided with a ship near Port Said, Egypt on February 12.
The US Navy said in a statement that it “holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met.”
The incident resulted in no deaths or injures, and the exact cause remains unclear. The collision damaged the outer walls of two storage rooms and caused damage to the carrier’s exterior.
The carrier had been operating in the Middle East for the past few months prior to sailing to Greece for emergency repairs to its starboard side.
The commanding officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Captain Christopher Hill will temporarily serve as the USS Harry S. Truman’s interim commanding officer.
Hill was in charge of the Eisenhower during an extended mission in the Middle East, where the carrier participated in operations against Huthi rebels in Yemen.
