USNS Big Horn damaged after refueling warships in the Middle East

# USNS Big Horn damaged after refueling warships in the Middle East

Event date: 2024-09-24

The U.S. Navy replenishment ship USNS Big Horn sustained damage after refueling vessels in the Middle East, according to AP.

Officials said the oil tanker had recently supported the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group. The damage came after the Big Horn supplied the carrier group, which remains in the region amid heightened tensions linked to the Israel-Hamas war and Israel’s strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The exact location of the damage has not been disclosed. A U.S. Navy official declined to elaborate, and AP said the cause remains under investigation. That limited disclosure means the public can confirm the ship was damaged, but not where or how.

The report says the Big Horn’s crew was safe and there was no sign of an oil leak. That is important because it narrows the immediate consequences to a logistics problem rather than a spill or crew emergency.

Another U.S. official told AP the vessel was being assisted by private tugboats to head into port while its damage was assessed. That suggests the ship remained seaworthy enough to be moved, even if it could no longer continue normal operations on its own.

The Big Horn is a fleet replenishment oiler, the sort of ship that keeps carrier groups supplied with fuel and other materials at sea. In a region where U.S. warships are operating under heightened tension, losing one such vessel temporarily can complicate logistics even if the wider fleet remains functional.

AP also noted that rumors about the ship circulated after images posted to a shipping-tracking site suggested flooding aboard the vessel. The report does not confirm those online claims; instead, it sticks to what U.S. officials would verify, namely that the ship had been damaged and was under assessment.

The role of replenishment ships is often overlooked until something goes wrong. Without them, aircraft carriers and escorts cannot stay on station as long. That is why even a non-combat damage incident can matter operationally.

The report says the Lincoln is patrolling the Arabian Sea and that the Big Horn had been alongside it in military photos taken earlier in the month. Those images show the ship operating in the same support role when the damage occurred.

The supply picture matters too. Officials said the destroyers in the strike group can refuel in port and can transport aviation fuel, which reduces dependence on a single oiler. That helps explain why one damaged support vessel is an inconvenience rather than a mission-ending event.

Still, the incident underscores how much of modern naval power depends on fragile logistics. Ships that are not firing weapons can still be strategically important enough that damage to one draws immediate attention.

For now, the confirmed facts are limited but clear: the USNS Big Horn was damaged after refueling vessels in the Middle East, there was no reported oil leak, the crew was safe and the cause is still being investigated.