Navy scandal: Commander of USS Harry S. Truman removed after shocking collision

The commanding officer on a US navy vessel that crashed into a merchant ship last week has been relieved of his duties. The dramatic incident occurred on February 12, just outside the Suez Canal near Port Said in Egypt.

The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier was under the commander of Capt. Dave Snowden at the time of the collision. The huge vessel collided with a merchant vessel, the Besiktas-M, which is roughly half the size of the Truman.

The USS Truman was operating in one of the busiest shipping areas in the world at the time of the collision. There was no flooding as a result and no injuries sustained by the crew. Nevertheless, there was damage to storage spaces and the line-handling space on the exterior of the carrier.

A statement released by Rear Adm. Sean Bailey said that Snowden would leave the role due to a “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

Snowden is the only member of the team that has been moved on as a result of the incident and the reason for the collision is still unclear. The “loss of confidence” reasoning is a boilerplate response used in navy communications that can encompass a variety of different reasons.

Military.com report that this could be anything from sub-par job performance to drunken driving. The vessel was quickly taken to Souda Bay in Crete to begin the necessary repairs but no timeframe has been given for the work.

This is the second incident to befall the USS Truman in the last few months. In December the USS Gettysburg fired on an F/A-18 that had just flown off the deck of the Truman. Both pilots were forced to eject and the aircraft was destroyed, although the commander was not relieved of his duties for that incident.

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