Two US Navy supply vessels collided in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean during the early hours of Thursday.
The USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6) and USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193) were taking part in an ongoing replenishment mission when the incident occurred.
Initial reports indicated that no one had been injured and the vessels suffered only minor damage.
They are also reportedly operating under their own power, executing their allocated missions.
The reasons for the collision are yet to be investigated. Both vessels will continue to deliver logistical support for the navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is a deployment covering the Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, from its Bahrain base.
In addition, the fleet forms part of a multinational naval force aimed at defending shipping against piracy.
The Lewis and Clark-class Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6) vessel was launched in April 2008 and delivered to the navy in October of the same year.
Lewis and Clark-class ships are powered by an integrated propulsion system based on four Man B&W 9l and 8l diesel generators, which provide an overall power of 35.7MW and drive a single shaft with a fixed-pitch propeller.
The Henry J. Kaiser-class USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193) vessel was laid in August 1986, followed by its launch and commissioning in October 1987 and September 1988, respectively.
Image: The US Navy’s military sealift command fleet replenishment vessel USNS Walter S. Diehl. Photo: courtesy of mass communication specialist 2nd Class A.J. Jones.
