The US 5th Fleet Command has revealed that two of its ships, the supercarrier USS Nimitz and missile cruiser USS Princeton, have been dispatched to the northern part of the Arabian Sea to conduct search and rescue operations after a sailor went missing and was presumed to have fallen overboard.
(2/2) “The Sailor has been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown on board aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
— U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) September 6, 2020
The Sailor’s name is being held in accordance with U.S. Navy policy
Updates will be provided as they become available.”
The status of the USS Nimitz sailor, whose name hasn't been revealed, was set to "whereabouts unknown" around 6:47 p.m. local time (2:47 p.m. GMT) on 6 September after the ship's crew failed to find him on board following an extensive search across all decks. The 5th Fleet promised to give further updates on the search once they become available, but so far there has been no word about the sailor that was pronounced to have fallen overboard.
The American Navy routinely patrols the region of the Arabian Sea, as well as the Persian Gulf and a crucial waterline connecting them – the Strait of Hormuz. The US has not halted these activities despite criticism from Iran, who argues that local Gulf states should handle maritime security in the region. Washington, in turn, accuses Iran of organising a series of "attacks" in May and June of 2019 on commercial vessels in the Gulf that resulted in non-critical damage to their hulls, but failed to provide solid proof to substantiate the claim, ignoring the fact that an Iranian oil tanker also suffered a similar attack.
