The Ramming of the USS Harry S. Truman

By Michael Shrimptonm

At around 2345 local time on Wednesday February 12th the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) was rammed on her starboard quarter in the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said by the MV Besiktas-M, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, callsign 3EOA9. Thankfully the Truman was not badly damaged, although she needed five days in Suda Bay for emergency repairs to be carried out. Sadly, the Besiktas-M didn’t sink. At no stage did either the Truman or her reported escorting destroyer, USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) open fire.

The Truman was reportedly headed back to her operational area in the Red Sea from a port visit to Souda Bay on Crete. The Turkish operated Betsikas had picked up a cargo in Aqaba in the Kingdom of Jordan and was headed to the port of Constanta on Romania’s Black Sea coast. The cargo appears to have been genuine, subject of course to fact-checking. The entire trip could have been set up, not least if it was a DVD operation. (The DVD would have had access to the Truman’s schedule.)