JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four sailors were injured Tuesday aboard the USS Harry S Truman in an accident during a refueling at sea.
According to the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, a line parted while the oiler USNS Patuxent was fueling the aircraft carrier off the east coast of Florida.
Two of the injured sailors were flown by Navy helicopter to the hospital at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and one sailor will be flown via a cargo plane to Naval Station Norfolk for further evaluation. One sailor was treated on board.
The Navy said all injuries were non-life-threatening and a safety investigation into the incident has begun.
"Two ships, either because of the diversion of course or the roles of the ship headed to sea, cause the line to overtension normally, and the line part ... holding the lines to the bulkhead of the ship give way," retired Navy Adm. Bob Natter said in a phone interview.
Truman is underway conducting training operations off the coast. On Saturday, a fast-attack submarine and a guided-missile cruiser that are part of the strike force collided. No one was injured when the USS Montpelier and the USS Jacinto collided, but the submarine docked at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay and the cruiser at Mayport for inspection of the damage.
Both ships are homeported in Norfolk, Va., as is the Truman.
The Navy announced that Rear Adm. Ann Phillips would serve as the investigating officer into the collision. Phillips' job will be to determine any fault or neglect, among other things.
Phillips is commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 2.
As for this being the second incident during the training maneuvers for the Truman Group, Natter says the commanding officer will want to maybe slow things down and get a handle on the issues that have led to these mishaps.