DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. Navy replenishment ship operating in the Middle East sustained damage after refueling vessels and the cause is under investigation, officials said Tuesday.
The USNS Big Horn was damaged after it resupplied the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group. The carrier group remains in the region amid heightened tensions over the Israel-Hamas war and Israel's ongoing strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A U.S. Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters yet to be made public, declined to elaborate on where the damage took place. A photo released by the U.S. military dated Sept. 5 showed sailors aboard the Lincoln receiving supplies from the Big Horn, while another on Sept. 11 showed the Big Horn alongside the Lincoln. The Lincoln is patrolling the Arabian Sea.
The official said the Big Horn's crew was safe and there was no sign of an oil leak from the vessel.
Another U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said the vessel was being supported by private tugboats to head into a port and an assessment of the damage was still ongoing.
Rumors about the Big Horn's condition began circulating early Tuesday after images posted to a website tracking shipping called gCaptain showed flooding purportedly on board the Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler. The website described the Big Horn as having “ran aground ... and partially flooded off the coast of Oman.”
Though the Lincoln is powered by a nuclear reactor, its strike group has vessels powered by fossil fuel that need to be resupplied at sea. The aircraft aboard the Lincoln also need jet fuel. The Big Horn and other ships like it also provide other supplies.
The U.S. official called the damage to the refueler an inconvenience, but said the fleet would continue to be able to operate without it. The strike group's destroyers can refuel in port and they can transport aviation fuel to the carrier to supply the on-board fighter jets and surveillance aircraft.
Oilers like the Big Horn typically have around 80 civilians and five military personnel on board.
It remains unclear if there are any other replenishment ships like it immediately available in the Mideast. An AP survey of publicly released military images of similar replenishment ships run by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command showed none in the Mideast in recent months. The command declined to comment.
Copp reported from Washington.
This handout photo from the U.S. Navy shows the Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn sailing alongside the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Sept. 11, 2024, at an undisclosed location at sea in the Middle East. The Big Horn sustained damage in an incident which is under investigation, officials said Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (U.S. Navy via AP)
HONOLULU (AP) — About 2,000 workers went on strike Tuesday at Hawaii's largest resort, joining thousands of others striking at hotels in other U.S. cities.
Unionized workers at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort — the largest Hilton in the world — began an open-ended strike at 5 a.m. They are calling for conditions including higher wages, more manageable workloads and a reversal of cuts implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic such as limited daily room cleaning.
Hilton representatives didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the strike.
Greg and Kerrie Sellers woke up Tuesday to drum beats, whistles and chants that they could hear coming from below their balcony at the resort.
“We heard the commotion from when we first woke up this morning," Greg Sellers recalled as they sat on a bench overlooking a lagoon outside the resort. "I don’t know that it’s going to have a great impact on our time here. I guess we’re sympathetic to the cause because ... the working rights over in Australia are much, much better than what they seem to be ... over here.”
Beachgoers sunbathing or sitting under umbrellas at the stretch of Waikiki beach near the resort could hear the strikers in the distance as hotel guests enjoyed the pool, shops and restaurants throughout the sprawling resort.
Outside on the street, workers marched and chanted bearing signs with slogans such as “One Job Should Be Enough,” which reflects how many Hawaii residents work multiple jobs to afford living in a state with an extremely high cost of living.
With the start of Tuesday's strike, more than 4,000 hotel workers are now on strike at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels in Honolulu, San Diego and San Francisco, according to the UNITE HERE union. They will strike until they win new contracts, the union said, warning that more strikes could begin soon.
More than 10,000 hotels workers across the U.S. went on strike on Labor Day weekend, with most ending after two or three days.
Aileen Bautista said she has three jobs, including as a housekeeper at Hilton Hawaiian Village, in order to makes ends meet as a single mom.
“I am on strike again, and this time I am ready to stay on strike for as long as it takes to win," she said.
Her coworker, Estella Fontanilla, paused from using a megaphone to lead marching workers in chants to explain that preserving daily housekeeper is crucial because it is much harder to clean rooms that haven't been cleaned for days. She said she wants guests to keep asking for daily cleaning.
The hotel strike comes as more than 600 nurses are locked out of the Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children after going on a one-day strike earlier this month. On Monday, 10 people were arrested for blocking busloads of temporary nurses from entering the Honolulu hospital where nurses are calling for safer patient-nurse ratios.
On Tuesday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and Attorney General Anne Lopez urged hospital and union leaders to seek federal mediation to help reach an agreement.
FILE - People walk into the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu, on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)
FILE - People swim in the lagoon in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)
Hotel workers march outside the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort after going on strike on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)
The Hilton Hawaiian Village's rainbow-covered building is seen from the beach on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)
Hotel workers march outside the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort after going on strike on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)
Estella Fontanilla, a housekeeper on strike from the Hilton Hawaiian Village, leads fellow hotel workers in strike chants on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)
