E-Paper
Sign In
T-shirt, rope choke toilets in US Gerald R Ford as it heads to Middle East
The deployment comes after President Donald Trump said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the region if a deal is not reached with Iran over its nuclear programme
- PUBLISHED: Tue 24 Feb 2026, 7:52 PM
A T-shirt and a four-foot-long rope are among the items that have been pulled from the plumbing system of the $13-billion USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which is now heading to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is being redeployed to the Middle East, the New York Times, which first reported the news, said, citing US officials. The carrier has been accompanied by six destroyers, according to the Washington Post.
Recommended For You
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The deployment comes after President Donald Trump said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the region if a deal is not reached with Iran over its nuclear programme.
Trump warned Tehran on Thursday that failure to reach an agreement would be "very traumatic." Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Oman last week, with a further round of negotiations scheduled for Geneva on Thursday, February 26.
The Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln, which along with several guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Arabian Sea in January. However, the Ford is sailing to the Middle East amid concerns about its plumbing. According to documents obtained by NPR, the carrier's Vacuum Collection, Holding and Transfer (VCHT) system has been prone to repeated breakdowns throughout its deployment, with sailors working 19-hour days to track down and fix leaks.
The email records reference 205 breakdowns in under four days. The system, borrowed in part from the cruise ship industry to conserve water, has proven inadequate for a crew of around 4,600 sailors.
The Navy has known about the problems for over a decade. A 2020 Government Accountability Office report flagged the system as undersized and poorly designed. Each acid flush used to clear calcium buildup from the pipes costs $400,000, and the Ford has undergone that treatment at least 10 times since 2023.
US Navy officials maintain the issues have had "no operational impact."
