US Navy supply ship damaged after refueling warships in the Middle East

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

The USNS Big Horn was damaged after delivering supplies to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group. The carrier group remains in the region while tensions rise 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, declined to comment on where the damage occurred. A photo released by the U.S. military on Sept. 5 shows sailors aboard the Lincoln receiving supplies from the Big Horn, while another photo from Sept. 11 shows the Big Horn alongside the Lincoln. The Lincoln patrols 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 in entering a port and that the damage assessment 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. reportedly showed flooding aboard the Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet supply tankerThe website described the Big Horn as having “ran aground off the coast of Oman… and partially submerged.”

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.

The U.S. official called the damage to the tanker an inconvenience but said the fleet can continue to operate without the ship. The battle group's destroyers can refuel in port and they can transport aviation fuel to the carrier to supply the fighter jets and surveillance aircraft on board.

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.