A U.S. Navy supply ship operating in the Middle East was damaged in an incident, officials said

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. Navy supply ship operating in the Middle East was damaged in an incident that is under investigation, officials said Tuesday.

The damage to the USNS Big Horn occurred after the tanker had been supplying the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group and remained in the region, where tensions have risen over the war between Israel and Hamas and Israel's ongoing attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A U.S. Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters not yet made public, said the damage occurred in the Middle East but declined to comment on its exact location. A photo released by the U.S. military on Sept. 5 shows sailors aboard the Lincoln receiving supplies from the Big Horn, while another on Sept. 11 shows the Big Horn alongside the Lincoln. The Lincoln is patrolling the Arabian Sea.

The official said the crew of the Big Horn was safe and there were no signs of an oil leak on board.

Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said the ship was being assisted by private tugboats and an assessment of the vessel was ongoing.

Rumors about the condition of the Big Horn began circulating early Tuesday after images were posted on a ship-tracking website called gCaptain purporting to show flooding aboard the Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet supply tanker. The website described the Big Horn as “grounded… and partially submerged off the coast of Oman.”

Although the Lincoln is powered by a nuclear reactor, her battle group has ships that run on fossil fuels and must be resupplied at sea. The aircraft aboard the Lincoln also require jet fuel. The Big Horn and other ships of this type also deliver other supplies.

Oil ships like the Big Horn typically have about 80 civilians and five military personnel on board.

It remains unclear whether there are other supply ships of this type in the Middle East. An AP review of publicly available military images of similar supply ships operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command found that none had been in the Middle East in recent months. The command declined to comment.

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Copp reported from Washington.