USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) and USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE-5) collided during their last pre-deployment exercise on Tuesday, Feb. 5. There were no casualties and only minor damage above the waterline to both ships according to USNI News.
The supply ship suffered an 8-inch gash above the waterline and Leyte Gulf suffered minor damage to flight-deck netting and two lifeboats dislodged. The two ships were conducting a planned turn during an underway replenishment when the sterns of the ships brushed together. An underway replenishment involves passing supplies from one ship to another while both are on the move and is the most dangerous task a warship can perform in peacetime.
“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, Feb. 5,” U.S. Fleet Forces Command said in a statement to USNI News.
This exercise was the last one before the group of vessels deploy together and was meant to demonstrate the coherence of the unit.
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