A US Navy fuel ship deployed to the Middle East suffered damage on Monday after apparently running into something.
A Navy official told Business Insider on Tuesday that the replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn appears to have been involved in an “allision” in the Arabian Sea.
An allision is a term for when a moving ship strikes a stationary object. The official did not say what the Big Horn hit, only that it took damage.
The official said the extent of the damage is being assessed, and an investigation is ongoing. The last report they received was that the Big Horn was anchored somewhere off the coast of Oman.
US Naval Forces Central Command, which oversees naval activities in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to BI’s queries.
That the Big Horn was involved in an incident was first reported on Tuesday by gCaptain, a maritime news outlet. The report said rumors indicated the oiler ran aground and cited leaked video and photos purporting to show damage to the vessel and flooding inside.
The official said the Navy has received reports that an allision occurred and that the Big Horn did not run aground.
The Big Horn is a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler that can provide fuel to other warships while at sea. Multiple Navy assets, including the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, are deployed to the Middle East region. The ship refueled the carrier Abraham Lincoln just two weeks ago.
It’s unclear how the Big Horn incident could impact the strike group’s operations, as it is a key support asset for 5th Fleet operations.
Monday’s allision is not the first time that the oiler has been damaged in the Middle East in recent months; the vessel suffered damage during an ill-fated July refueling incident with destroyer USS John S. McCain.
