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U.S. Navy Fleet Oiler Damaged in Grounding Off Oman

USNS Big Horn
USNS Big Horn (USN file image)

Published Sep 24, 2024 1:27 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The fleet oiler USNS Big Horn went aground off the coast of Oman on Monday night, according to the U.S. Navy, and sustained unspecified damage at the stern. No leaks or pollution have been reported. 

“USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198), a replenishment oiler, sustained damage while operating at sea in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations overnight on Sept. 23. All crew members are currently safe and U.S. 5th Fleet is assessing the situation,” the Navy said in a statement. 

Photos circulating online purport to show minor flooding in an engineering space and a damaged rudder post in the steering compartment. The Navy has not confirmed the authenticity of any imagery. 

Big Horn is a Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet oiler built at Avondale in 1992. She is civilian-crewed and is homeported on the U.S. East Coast. USNI reports that Big Horn was deployed to support the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, and is the only vessel of her kind in the task force. The timeline to mobilize a replacement is unknown. 

Without an immediate substitute option, the grounding of Big Horn may impede the carrier's operations. Oilers have an unseen but vital role in naval aviation, and the grounding brings this essential link in the supply chain into public view. Carriers require a steady supply of jet fuel to conduct high-tempo flight operations, and Lincoln's air wing is in the region on an important mission - deterring Iran while Israel conducts military operations against Iranian-sponsored groups in Gaza and Lebanon. A fuel supply gap could create a time gap in Lincoln's strike capability, which would be a time gap in her mission as a credible deterrent - all because of the loss of one fleet oiler. 

Military Sealift Command, the Navy's civilian-crewed auxiliary division, has a serious long-term manning shortage and has reportedly had challenges crewing up some of its oilers, reducing the available supply of replacement ships. Under a new "force generation reset" plan, MSC has proposed sidelining one oiler for long-term maintenance (along with 16 other ships) in order to free up more mariners for the rest of its fleet. 

The service needs those mariners for three brand new fleet oilers in the John Lewis-class. These modern ships have delivered, but none have been deployed yet because MSC has had a hard time finding crews for them, according to USNI.