Sailors Abroad US Aircraft Carrier, CVN-78 Sleeping on Floors After Beds Destroyed in Fire Amid Iran Ops

Sailors on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, (CVN-78), battled flames for over 30 hours last week, after a fire that started in the ship’s main laundry area, spread through ventilation to several other areas of the ship, including multiple berthing.

More than 600 sailors and aircraft crew lost their beds in the fire and have since been bunking down on floors and tables throughout the ship, the New York Times reported.

The ship will return for re-supply, but possibly also for an investigation into the large fire that broke out aboard the vessel on March 12, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported quoting a source.

The aircraft carrier is now entering its 10th month of deployment, the report said, adding that crew members have been told that their deployment will probably be extended into May, which would put them at an entire year at sea, twice the length of a normal aircraft carrier deployment.

Kathimerini understands that one scenario being examined is that the blaze may have been deliberately caused by crew members to terminate their extended mission.

The vessel spent four days at the Souda Bay base on Crete last February resupplying, before heading for the eastern Mediterranean.