Fire extinguished aboard USS New Orleans

U.S. and Japanese crews extinguished a fire that affected multiple decks aboard the USS New Orleans.

Defense NewsCarla Babb2025-08-20 21:13查看原文 ↗

This story has been updated.

U.S. and Japanese crews extinguished the fire aboard amphibious transport docking ship New Orleans off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, two defense officials told Military Times.

U.S. Navy crews, along with the Japan Coast Guard and military, put out the fire by 4 a.m. Thursday, Japan Standard Time. They had been working to extinguish the blaze for about 11 hours, since 5 p.m. JST on Wednesday.

Two sailors sustained minor injuries and were treated by medical personnel aboard the vessel, according to the U.S. Seventh Fleet .

Another defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details about the ship, said the fire appeared to be contained to the middle decks near the ship’s bow. The official added that multiple decks had been affected, without specifying how many decks were burned.

The New Orleans was anchored near White Beach Naval Facility during the time of the blaze, the Seventh Fleet said. The crew of the amphibious transport docking ship San Diego, moored at the facility, helped with the firefighting efforts.

A U.S. Marine Corps official told Military Times that no Marines were aboard the ship when the fire broke out.

At the time of publishing, it was unclear how many sailors were aboard when the fire started, or what caused the blaze. The cause is under investigation, the Seventh Fleet said.

The crew of the New Orleans was expected to remain aboard the ship.

The fire could further hinder the availability of amphibious warships at a time when the Navy is already struggling with readiness issues within the fleet. The readiness rate of amphibious ships critical to Marine missions has dropped to 41% , a defense official told Military Times earlier this week.

The lack of available amphibious warfare ships, known as amphibs, resulted in a more than five-month gap in Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments this year. The 31st MEU completed its last patrol aboard the America Amphibious Ready Group in early March. The 22nd MEU deployed aboard the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group on Thursday.

Officials say the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group has docked in Norfolk after sailing off the coast of the Carolinas to avoid Hurricane Erin. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the deployment, said the ships had planned to enter into Caribbean waters under the command of U.S. SOUTHCOM but had been delayed by the storm, which on Wednesday remained a Category 2 storm with winds of 100 miles per hour.

An investigation by the Government Accountability Office in 2024 found that half of the U.S. Navy’s 32 amphibious warfare ships were in poor material condition .

The Marine Corps has said it needs the amphib readiness rate at 80% or higher to complete its missions with the current number of ships in the fleet, and Marine Corps commandant Gen. Eric Smith has called the amphib readiness rate a “crisis.”

“I have the Marines, and I have the squadrons, and I have the battalions and the batteries … I just don’t have the amphibs,” Smith told Voice of America late last year.

本文已更新。

据《军事时报》报道，两名国防官员透露，美国和日本船员扑灭了在日本冲绳海岸附近两栖船坞运输舰“新奥尔良”号上的火灾。

美国海军人员与日本海上保安厅和军方人员于日本标准时间周四凌晨4点扑灭了大火。他们从周三下午5点（日本标准时间）开始，已经奋战了约11个小时才将火扑灭。

据美国第七舰队称，两名水手受了轻伤，并由船上的医务人员进行了治疗。

另一位不愿透露姓名的国防部官员表示，火灾似乎被控制在靠近舰艏的中层甲板上。该官员补充说，多层甲板受到影响，但没有具体说明有多少层甲板被烧毁。

第七舰队表示，火灾发生时，“新奥尔良”号航母停泊在白滩海军基地附近。停泊在该基地的两栖船坞运输舰“圣地亚哥”号的船员也参与了灭火工作。

美国海军陆战队一名官员告诉《军事时报》，火灾发生时船上没有海军陆战队员。

截至发稿时，尚不清楚起火时船上有多少水兵，也不清楚起火原因。第七舰队表示，起火原因正在调查中。

新奥尔良号的船员预计将留在船上。

这场火灾可能会进一步影响两栖战舰的可用性，而此时海军舰队的战备问题已经十分严峻。一位国防官员本周早些时候告诉《军事时报》，对海军陆战队任务至关重要的两栖舰艇的战备率已降至41%。

由于两栖作战舰艇（也称两栖船）的短缺，导致今年海军陆战队远征部队的部署出现了超过五个月的空档期。第31远征部队于3月初完成了在“美利坚”号两栖戒备群上的最后一次巡逻。第22远征部队则于周四部署到“硫磺岛”号两栖戒备群上。

官员称，为躲避飓风艾琳，硫磺岛两栖戒备群已驶离卡罗来纳州海岸，抵达诺福克港。这些官员因未获授权就此次部署发表评论而要求匿名。他们表示，这些舰艇原计划在美国南方司令部的指挥下进入加勒比海海域，但因飓风艾琳而延误。截至周三，飓风艾琳仍为二级飓风，风速达每小时100英里。