The US Navy was left stranded after the Navy oil tanker USNS Big Horn ran aground and partially flooded off the coast of Oman.
The incident, first reported by maritime news site gCaptain, has left the Carrier Strike Group Abraham Lincoln in a vulnerable position—without its main source of fuel in the volatile region.
At The Great Horna 33-year-old Kaiser-class oiler, sustained damage to the rudder and experienced water flooding in the mechanical space.
Leaked photos and videos from the scene depict significant damage, which the Navy is now struggling to fully assess.
While no injuries or environmental damage were reported, it was a major blow to the Navy’s readiness in the US 5th Fleet area of operations.
Video via gCaptain, John Konrad:
It doesn’t look good. I have been told by the owner of the ship, the Navy has no spare oil to distribute and is struggling to find commercial oil tankers to refuel the carrier group Abraham Lincoln.
Update via gCaptain forum: https://t.co/nNG6uSYGJJ https://t.co/wGP2GTYyAw pic.twitter.com/ec2oN3CpSf
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) September 24, 2024
For carrier strike groups operating in the Middle East, refueling is not a luxury but a necessity. Without a reliable source of fuel, the USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying vessels are at heightened risk.
At The Great Horn was the only oiler available in the area, and now the Navy is still struggling to find commercial oil tankers to fill the gap.
The Navy Times reported:
Although Lincoln is powered by a nuclear reactor, the strike group has ships powered by fossil fuels that must be refueled at sea. The plane in Lincoln also needs jet fuel. The Big Horn and other ships like it also provided other supplies.
Oilers like the Big Horn usually have around 80 civilians and five military personnel on board.
It is unclear whether any other such tankers are available in the Middle East. An AP survey of publicly released military images of similar replenishment ships operated by the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command showed no presence in the Middle East in recent months. Command declined to comment.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the US Navy. The latest incident underscores the broader tanker crisis facing the military, a problem exacerbated by the closure of the Red Hill Pacific fuel depot in Hawaii last year due to a fuel leak.
With less than ten tankers insured for military operations, the Navy was stretched thin, and the current predicament of the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group is a clear example.
Worse, the John Lewis-class oilers – the planned replacements for the aging Kaiser-class ships like The Great Horn– still plagued by delays. Although launching in 2021, the USNS John Lewis and his friends are still sitting in the repair shop, unable to spread.
More from gCaptain:
The Navy is currently facing a shortage of fuel and crew to operate. Earlier this month, the Navy announced it could provide 17 replenishment and supply ships—including one oiler—because of difficulties recruiting US Merchant Mariners. When the Navy has opened five new John Lewis Class oilers – including the USNS Lucy Batu (T-AO 209) this week – and awarded NASSCO a $6.7 billion contract for eight more, the challenge remains.
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USNS Landing The Great Horn is a reminder of the broader tanker crisis facing the US military, as highlighted by Captain Steve Carmel, a former vice president at Maersk, in an editorial for gCaptain last year. The Department of Defense projected a need for more than a hundred tankers of various sizes in the event of a serious conflict in the Pacific. However, current estimates show that the DoD has secured access to less than ten, a dangerously high number that threatens to cripple US military operations. Without sufficient tanker capacity, even the most advanced naval capabilities—including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which still rely on aviation fuel—will be ineffective.
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The shortage of both oilers and tankers demands urgent action. The United States must build a larger US-flagged fleet capable of replenishing aircraft carriers and supporting joint warfighting operations. Developing a Tanker Safety Program, enforcing cargo preferences, and prepositioning fueled tankers are potential solutions, but require immediate implementation. With the threat of conflict in the Pacific, securing a strong tanker fleet is not just a logistical necessity – it is vital.
This crisis – coupled with the equally troubling US Merchant Marine crew crisis – poses a significant challenge to the US Navy. Encouragingly, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro called for a bold new Maritime vessel. Additionally, under the leadership of Representative Michael Waltz and Senator Mark Kelly, Congress is working on a bill to address our maritime dilemma – a bill that makes this bill more interesting than ever. However, major obstacles remain. The solution will take time, and other federal agencies — including the US Coast Guard, but especially the US Maritime Administration under Secretary Pete Buttigieg — are under-resourced and unmotivated to do the heavy lifting required to tackle the problem.
