The US Navy’s aircraft carriers have come under renewed scrutiny following complaints about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East for almost seven months without a port call. The carrier is reportedly set to be replaced by the USS George Washington, according to the Wall Street Journal, CNN and NBC News, citing people familiar with the matter.
CNN reported that the change had already been planned, although neither CNN nor NBC News could establish when the transfer would take place. NBC News said such a changeover would normally take several weeks.
The USS George Washington was reported by the US Navy to have arrived in Vietnam’s Da Nang in late July. The carrier left the central Vietnamese city on 5 August, but its subsequent destination was not immediately known.
The reported replacement comes amid growing demands from members of the US Congress for answers over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Democratic Congressman Mike Levin described reports of mouldy showers and broken toilets on the carrier, as well as prolonged periods without hot water. He also criticised food provision, saying one meal was limited to half a cup of rice and two tortillas.
Senator Richard Blumenthal separately called on the administration of President Donald Trump to explain what was being done to support personnel aboard the carrier. He cited widespread reports of supply shortages, problems with sanitation facilities and deteriorating mental health, saying the situation required immediate action.
Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, submitted an official request to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Under Secretary Hung Cao. According to his inquiry, the USS Abraham Lincoln had not entered a port for almost seven consecutive months, a record period that was apparently placing a growing strain on its crew.
The carrier and its accompanying vessels had expanded the US military presence in the Middle East after being withdrawn from the South China Sea at the beginning of January. The United States and Israel began military strikes against Iran on 28 February, and the carrier has since operated in the Arabian Sea as part of the US naval blockade of vessels attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports.
The controversy surrounding the Abraham Lincoln comes as Trump has separately intervened in the Navy’s aircraft-carrier technology. The US President has ordered the Navy to remove the electromagnetic aircraft launch system used on its carriers and return to traditional steam catapults, according to a White House announcement and a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The order concerns Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and is expected to cost billions of dollars. Trump has repeatedly criticised the electromagnetic launch system, arguing that it is more expensive and less effective than traditional steam catapults.
“They have spent billions of dollars more on electric catapults, and they are not good,” Trump said last month at a defence summit in Pennsylvania. “They are nowhere near as good, too complex.”
The decision represents a return to older technology at a time when the US Navy’s carriers are already facing intense scrutiny over operational demands and the conditions experienced by their crews.
The complaints concerning the Abraham Lincoln have been disputed by Hegseth, who rejected the allegations. Nevertheless, the reported deployment of the USS George Washington to replace the carrier has brought renewed attention to the demands placed on US naval personnel during prolonged operations.
Together, the developments have placed the US carrier fleet under unusual public and political attention, with questions over both the technology used to operate its aircraft and the conditions endured by sailors during extended deployments.
