Repairs keep Navy ships out of Persian Gulf

Single carrier patrols region

Author: By Barbara Starr CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Published On: Nov 21 2012 06:34:24 PM EST   Updated On: Nov 22 2012 02:24:31 AM EST
Aircraft Carrier Lincoln Stennis
(CNN) -

At a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. Navy has been forced to temporarily abandon the requirement to keep two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf because of unusual maintenance problems.

The USS Nimitz was expected to deploy to the Persian Gulf early next year, but it will not leave because of extensive repairs on a failed propulsion pump. It may be deployed in spring 2013. At the same time, the USS Eisenhower is being sent home immediately for repairs to its flight deck. It will remain in Norfolk, Virginia, for two months and then return to the Middle East early next year to complete its deployment.

The Navy plans to send the USS Harry S Truman to the region early next year to restore the two-carrier presence. The USS Stennis is already in the area.

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