US Navy Guided-missile Cruiser, Dry Cargo Ship Collide Off Florida During Training

A US Navy guided-missile cruiser has collided with a dry cargo ship belonging to the Navy off the coast of Florida during a training exercise on Tuesday.

USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) and USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE-5) collided during a training exercise as part of a pre-deployment workupin the afternoon. There were no casualties. Both ships suffered minor damage above the waterline, USNI quoted three sources familiar with the collision as saying.\

“The supply ship suffered an 8-inch gash above the waterline and Leyte Gulf suffered minor damage to flight-deck netting and two lifeboats were dislodged. Neither ship took on water,” a Navy official said.

“No personnel were injured when a U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser and dry cargo ship made contact during an underway replenishment off the southeastern coast of the United States on Feb 5. USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) and USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE-5) were able to safely operate after the incident. Damage will be assessed when the ships pull into port,” US Fleet Forces Command said in a statement to USNI News.

The pair were conducting a planned turn together during an underway replenishment when the sterns of the two ships brushed together. Underway replenishments (UNREP), in which ships take on supplies while on the move, are among the most dangerous tasks a warship can perform in peacetime. Ships can operate as close as 150 feet from each other during an UNREP.

The ships were operating with aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as part of a training exercise when the collision occurred.

The two ships are expected to rejoin the exercise next week, a Navy official told USNI News.