USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), the flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, collided with M/V Besiktas-M around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday near Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea, the Navy said Thursday.
The carrier did not experience flooding and the crew did not report injuries, Cmdr. Tim Gorman, spokesperson for U.S. 6th Fleet said in a statement.
UPDATED: USS Harry S. Truman Collides with Merchant Vessel in Mediterranean Sea
I was under the impression that a carrier group kept the carrier in the middle, and any vessel approaching would avoid the entire group, unless, say, a supply ship.
So the problem is not the amount of damage, rather: suppose a hostile Mideastern terrorist organization had taken control of a bulk tanker, filled it with high explosives (perhaps a nuclear weapon), and staged this kind of “accident”. Result: one less U.S. carrier–a tremendous propaganda coup and naval victory.
There were a couple major collisions a few years ago: the McCain and the Fitzgerald. As a consequence many of us expected the Navy to change its procedures to fix this security hole–but it hasn’t.
How about a boarding party with 10-20 well armed terrorists fanning out, just shooting everyone in sight. A handful of hand grenades each to toss into any open hatches or intakes on aircraft. Let that play out for 20 minutes, then, blow up the tanker.
See if Steven Seagal and Tommy Lee Jones are available. Sean C is not.
