The USS Gerald R. Ford is leaving Split, Croatia, after a five-day repair visit in the Adriatic port city.
The ship transited to Croatia on March 28 following a three-day docking in Crete for refueling and repairs. The Gerald R. Ford initially left the Red Sea for Crete after an hourslong fire tore through the aircraft carrier’s laundry unit.
The Navy said the ship “remains poised for full mission tasking in support of national objectives in any area of operation.” The Pentagon did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner on where the Gerald Ford is headed next.
As part of Carrier Strike Group 12, the Gerald R. Ford “is deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations as a premier instrument of national power in support of commander-in-chief tasking to deter aggression, preserve economic prosperity, and maintain free and open seas,” the Navy said.
The aircraft carrier, which has been at sea since June 24, 2025, has been stationed in the Red Sea since early March to assist with Operation Epic Fury. The ship had previously been stationed in the Caribbean Sea from late 2025 to February 2026 as part of the U.S. pressure campaign against drug trafficking in the region.
Less than one month into its venture in the Middle East to assist in the war against Iran, the fire in the ship’s laundry unit damaged the beds of about 600 sailors. The damage displaced about 13% of the carrier’s 4,500 sailors and crew members and left much of the crew unable to do laundry.
UK HOSTS SUMMIT ON REOPENING STRAIT OF HORMUZ FOLLOWING TRUMP DEMAND: ‘TAKE CARE OF IT’
As the Gerald Ford moved to the Naval Support Activity Souda Bay for its initial repairs, the Navy transferred about 1,000 mattresses from the USS John F. Kennedy to the ship and collected clothing items for the affected crew, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.
The Navy said the investigation into the fire is still ongoing and that the ship received scheduled repairs and “supplies to sustain operations” while in port in Split.
