Asia Defense | Security

At least 21 people today were wounded immediately after a significant fire and explosion on board USS Bonhomme Richard, a U.S. Navy warship, docked at U.S. Naval Foundation San Diego, the household port of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

“Seventeen Sailors and four civilians are staying treated for non-life threatening accidents at a regional medical center,” the U.S. Navy mentioned in a assertion. In accordance to senior U.S. Pacific Fleet officers, the sailors on board the ship had endured “minor injuries” and have been in a stable affliction.

As of Sunday night time, the San Diego Hearth Department was was however battling the fire on board the ship alongside other companies. The lead to of the hearth stays unfamiliar.

In accordance to U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, the commander of Expeditionary Strike Team 3, the sailors who ended up hurt suffered mainly from smoke inhalation. The fire on board the ship was imagined to have damaged out in a reduce cargo hold, spreading inevitably to the deck, exactly where it turned a big conflagration.

The ultimate standing of the ship continues to be not known as the hearth ongoing to rage Sunday evening. The possible loss of USS Bonhomme Richard, a Wasp-course amphibious assault ship, would mark a key blow to the ability of the U.S. Navy—and precisely the Pacific Fleet.

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The Wasp-class of ships, although categorized as landing helicopter docks, or LHDs, by the U.S. Navy, are similar to plane carriers operated by other international locations. With a tonnage of 40,500 extensive tons, the Wasp-course, including Bonhomme Richard, are capable of running fastened wing aircraft and helicopters, which include the F-35B Lightning II and the MV-22B Osprey.

USS Bonhomme Richard was undergoing servicing when the hearth broke out. The vessel has concluded many considerable deployments to the Indo-Pacific area in current many years, which include as the flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Task Pressure 76.

In 2018, Bonhomme Richard finished a 5-year forward deployment to Japan and returned to San Diego. The ship was commissioned in August 1998 and is in energetic services alongside seven other Wasp-class sister ships.

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U.S. Navy vessels have expert big mishaps at sea in current years. In 2017, USS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, collided with the MV ACX Crystal, a container ship, triggering the fatalities of 7 sailors and in depth destruction to the ship’s hull.

That same calendar year, USS John S. McCain collided with the Alnic MC, killing 10 sailors and also producing substantial hull problems. Both of those vessels have been repaired and the two incidents took area in the Indo-Pacific.