According to a report by US Naval Institute News on the 17th, the US Navy's USS Ford aircraft carrier, which participated in large-scale military operations by the United States and Israel against Iran, is preparing to leave the Red Sea and sail to a US naval base in Greece for repairs due to a fire that broke out last week.
The report, quoting a senior US official, said that the USS Ford will undergo more than a week of maintenance at the US military base in Souda Bay, on the southern Greek island of Crete.
The report pointed out that a fire broke out in the laundry room at the rear of the USS Ford on the 12th, injuring three sailors, one of whom was evacuated from the carrier. More than 200 sailors were treated for smoke inhalation and have since returned to duty. A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement that the fire destroyed multiple compartments and more than 100 berths on the carrier.
As of the 17th, the USS Ford had been on continuous sea duty for 266 days. The US Navy's largest aircraft carrier first sailed from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean Sea to participate in the US military operation against Venezuela in January this year. In February, it sailed from the Caribbean via the Mediterranean to Middle Eastern waters to take part in the large-scale airstrike jointly launched by the US and Israel against Iran on the 28th of the same month.