The US Navy is formally investigating whether sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford deliberately started the fire that tore through the aircraft carrier on 12 March 2026, a blaze that took more than 30 hours to extinguish and left over 600 crew members without beds, as the warship limps toward Greece after nearly 11 consecutive months at sea.
The fire, which originated in the ship's main laundry spaces while the carrier operated in the Red Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury, injured at least two sailors, with a third later medevaced for further care. US Central Command confirmed the incident was 'not combat-related and is contained,' but has declined to specify the cause, a gap that investigators are now working to fill.
