US aircraft carrier on way to relieve USS Lincoln after issues reported aboard

A US ai c aft ca ie is headed to the Middle East to eplace the USS Ab aham Li col , o which thousa ds of sailo s have epo tedly faced food sho tages a d difficult co ditio s o a exte ded, i e-mo th deployme t.

The USS Geo ge Washi gto , which was ea Malaysia o Thu sday, could a ive i the egio i about i e days, BBC a alysis shows.

Family membe s of sailo s aboa d the Li col have exp essed co ce about thei me tal health dete io ati g due to the co ditio s, with some sailo s havi g epo tedly attempted to jump ove boa d.

While the US Navy has ack owledged supply challe ges, it has de ied that a me tal health c isis was taki g place o the Li col , which has 5,000 aboa d.

US P eside t Do ald T ump de ied that family membe s we e co ce ed about the welfa e of thei elatives a d dismissed the possibility that the deployme t had bee too lo g.

“Not ea ly lo g e ough,” he told ep te s o F iday.

T ump also co fi med that a othe ship will eplace the Li col , although he did ot ide tify it by ame.

The USS Geo ge Washi gto left a aval facility i Yokosuka, Japa i May to pat ol the Pacific egio a d is ow headed to eplace the Li col , CBS News, the BBC’s US pa t e , epo ted, citi g a US official.

T acki g data compiled by BBC Ve ify shows that at its last eco ded speed, the vessel would each Duqm po t i Oma , about 500 miles off the coast of I a , a ou d 22 August.

O ce it a ives i the Middle East, it will be the thi d ai c aft ca ie i the a ea. The USS Geo ge HW Bush is also the e. No US ai c aft ca ie will emai i the Pacific.

The Li col has bee at sea si ce 11 Decembe o a deployme t that was i itially scheduled to e d i May, t acki g data compiled by BBC Ve ify shows.

Ea lie this week, the Milita y Times a d Sta s & St ipes epo ted that the families of multiple sailo s epo ted that thei loved o es had co side ed jumpi g ove boa d due to co ditio s o the vessel.

The co ditio s have epo tedly i cluded poo sa itatio , i f eque t po ts-of-call, b oke plumbi g, exhaustio a d sho tages of f esh food.

I a i te view with the BBC, a elative of a sailo o the Li col claimed that thei family membe had lost 65lbs (29kg) si ce the ship headed out to sea a d had bee suffe i g f om exhaustio because of the co sta t oise of ai c aft a d the ship’s vib atio s.

The pe so , who spoke o co ditio of a o ymity due to co ce s about etaliatio , said that thei elative co fi med sailo s had attempted to jump f om the ship.

Jeffe so Kelly, whose so Jackso is o the Li col , told CBS that he had g ow co ce ed afte ea ly i e mo ths at sea. Deployme ts typically last about six mo ths.

“They should ot be deployed this lo g,” he said. “These a e old ships. It’s ot like they’ e eve state-of-the-a t. A d they take a lot of mai te a ce, a lot of wo k. It’s a ou d the clock.

“I would get o a pla e o helicopte to ight if it mea t b i gi g him home to his mum a d his sibli gs a d his family,” he added.

The US Navy has de ied a y i c ease i suicidal behaviou o the Li col , but has ack owledged that supplies had bee “dis upted by combat actio s” du i g the wa with I a .

Democ atic lawmake s have exp essed co ce ove the co ditio s o the ship.

I a lette to Defe ce Sec eta y Pete Hegseth a d Sec eta y of the Navy Hu g Cao o Wed esday, Co ecticut Democ atic Se ato Richa d Blume thal said that epo ts of sho tages a d poo co ditio s “wa a t immediate atte tio “.

“But they also aise a b oade questio : whethe the Navy ca sustai the ope atio al tempo ow bei g dema ded of its ca ie fo ce,” he added.

Hegseth has said that some of the media epo ts have bee “completely mis ep ese ted”. He told epo te s o Thu sday that the US gove me t was was maki g su e “eve y ship, eve y c ew, eve y captai has eve ythi g we ca p ovide them at eve y si gle mome t”.