Aug. 21 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy reported a fire aboard the amphibious docking ship USS New Orleans on Thursday. It was anchored near White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa, Japan.
U.S. Navy crews and Japanese Coast Guard crews extinguished the fire about 4 a.m. Japan Standard Time, the Navy’s 7th Fleet said. The blaze began at about 4 p.m.Wednesday, and the cause is under investigation.
The crew of the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego helped New Orleans sailors fight the fire. The San Diego is moored at White Beach.
Two sailors suffered minor injuries and were treated aboard the New Orleans.
The New Orleans crew will stay aboard the ship, the Navy said.
The fire could further hurt the availability of amphibious warships while the Navy is struggling with readiness issues within the fleet, the Navy Times said. The readiness rate of amphibious ships critical to Marine missions has dropped to 41%, a defense official told Military Times earlier this week.
An investigation by the Government Accountability Office in 2024 found that half of the U.S. Navy’s 32 amphibious warfare ships were in poor material condition.
The New Orleans collided with submarine USS Hartford in the Strait of Hormuz in 2009.