Navy relieves commander of aircraft carrier that collided with ship near Suez Canal

(CNN) — The US Navy has relieved the commander of an aircraft carrier that collided with a mercantile vessel in the Mediterranean Sea near the entrance to the Suez Canal.

Capt. Dave Snowden was serving as the commander of the USS Harry S. Truman when it collided with a ship near Port Said, Egypt, which is the northern end of the Suez Canal. Snowden had been the commander of the Truman since December 2023.

The carrier had been operating in the Middle East for the past several months before sailing to Souda Bay, Greece.

“The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met,” the Navy said in a statement.

The collision occurred last week. It’s still not clear what caused the collision, but it did not cause any flooding or injuries to personnel on board the carrier or damage to aircraft.

The carrier returned to port in Greece for emergency repairs to the ship’s starboard side. The collision damaged the exterior walls of two storages rooms, a maintenance space, and the outside of the ship sustained damage.

Capt. Christopher Hill, the commander of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, will temporarily serve as commander of the USS Harry S. Truman.

Hill was in charge of the Eisenhower during an extended deployment to the Middle East which saw the carrier and its strike group carry out offensive and defense operations against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

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