US aircraft carrier to sail to Crete for repairs after fire on board

The US Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, is preparing to leave the Red Sea for repairs in Crete after a fire on board injured sailors and caused significant damage, US officials have said.

It will travel to a US Navy base on the island for pierside repairs, authorities said, after a blaze broke out in the laundry facility last week and took hours to extinguish.

The world's largest warship has been beset by problems during its deployment in the Middle East, including an earlier breakdown of its toilet system.

The vessel has been deployed for nearly nine months, and was sent to the region as part of US operations linked to the war with Iran.

More than 200 crew members were assessed for smoke inhalation and later returned to duty after the fire broke out on 2 March, US officials said.

One sailor was medically evacuated and is in a stable condition, while two others were treated for minor injuries.

The fire prompted a major damage control response, with sailors working for hours to contain the blaze and ensure it had not spread to other parts of the ship, officials said.

Smoke damage spread to sleeping quarters, leaving more than 100 beds unusable, according to authorities. Replacement cots have been arranged, and additional mattresses and clothing were sent to the ship after its laundry facilities were wiped out.

A spokesperson for the US Fifth Fleet said the ship remained operational. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The Ford will sail to Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Crete for more than a week of repairs, a US official told USNI News, a site specialising in the US Navy.

In January, the vessel suffered a malfunction in its toilet system, with US media reporting clogged toilets and long lines for restrooms on the ship.

The Navy acknowledged there had been some issues, citing the vessel's leadership as saying "clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime".

The nuclear-powered carrier has played an important role in the US-Israeli war against Iran, with the fighter jets it carries taking part in multiple strikes.

The $13bn vessel has faced scrutiny over the length of its deployment. It was deployed first to the Caribbean amid heightened tensions with Venezuela and was sent to the Middle East in February.

If it remains at sea beyond mid-April it would exceed the post-Vietnam War record for a US aircraft carrier deployment, set in 2020 by USS Abraham Lincoln, according to USNI News.

Senator Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticised its lengthy deployment on Tuesday.

"The Ford and its crew have been pushed to the brink after nearly a year at sea, and they have been paying the price for President Donald Trump's reckless military decisions," he said in a statement.

It is expected to be relieved by another carrier, the USS George H.W Bush, the New York Times has reported.