USS Abraham Lincoln Is Getting A Badly Needed Scrubbing While In Thailand

Published Sep 4, 2026 7:03 PM EDT

(Photo by © TNP/Arnun Chonmahatrakool/Thai News Pix/LightRocket via Getty Images)

After pulling into Thailand looking very much like it just spent 286 days at sea, the U.S. Navy’s supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln is now getting much-needed TLC. When the Lincoln arrived in the Thai port of Laem Chabang on Sept. 2, it had so-called “running rust” and algae caked all along the sides of the hull. Other parts of the ship, especially around the edges of the flight deck and sponsons on either side, also looked rough. The ship’s condition was a stark, visible reminder of the hardships endured by the carrier and its crew during a long deployment that included a key role in the war against Iran .

Video emerged on social media of local workers cleaning the carrier. Two of them can be seen on a scaffolding platform, dressed in silver-colored protective clothing, yellow helmets, face shields and black boots, spraying the side of the big ship. You can see that most of the rust, as well as all of the green swath of algae, was removed from the section where they are working.

The camera also pans across the ship, showing the extent of the work still needed.

Those recent viral rust photos/footage of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in Thailand overstated the story. Yes, the hull looked rough in pictures, but the ship itself was never in question, that's the part the headlines skipped. Today at Laem Chabang Port in Thailand, local… pic.twitter.com/b8SP2oyrJZ — Comandante🎖️ (@commandante_) September 4, 2026

Those recent viral rust photos/footage of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in Thailand overstated the story. Yes, the hull looked rough in pictures, but the ship itself was never in question, that's the part the headlines skipped. Today at Laem Chabang Port in Thailand, local… pic.twitter.com/b8SP2oyrJZ

It is unclear whether this work had already been scheduled as part of routine maintenance or whether it had been ordered after images of the ship emerged showing its rough condition. The ship was a huge focus of attention even before it got to Thailand.

Lincoln and Carrier Strike Group 3 took part in the opening salvo of strikes on Iran on February 28 as part of what the U.S. military dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Lincoln and the rest of the strike group continued to support Epic Fury and subsequent operations against Iran for months thereafter. The decision was finally made to rotate the carrier out of the region last month following a raft of reports of severely flagging morale and mental health among the crew. One sailor had to be rescued last month after deliberately jumping overboard . There were reports that at least one other individual onboard had attempted to do the same . President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth , among others, have pushed back on concerns about mental health and other issues on the ship.

Interest in the Lincoln flared up anew after it arrived in Thailand due to its condition, as well as intense curiosity about how the crew would fare in a Thai port call after being at sea for so long.

The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) aircraft carrier arrives at Laem Chabang Port on Sept. 2, 2026 in Si Racha, Thailand. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images) Thananuwat Srirasant

As we noted in our initial story about the Lincoln ’s arrival in Thailand, running rust on U.S. Navy ships has sparked criticism over the years , including from President Donald Trump. This is in part due to the negative optics of such visible wear and tear on American naval vessels , especially during calls in foreign ports.

“It’s terrible. I think they should be ashamed,” John Phelan told members of Congress at a hearing last year after being shown pictures of a very worn-looking Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the USS Dewey , during a stopover in Singapore. “Would you want to go on that ship?”

One driving factor in the condition of ships like Lincoln is the operational tempo of deployments, a Navy official noted earlier this year.

“We know what to do, but we choose not to do it,” Mark Lattner, director of the Navy’s Ship Integrity and Performance Engineering, Naval Systems Engineering Directorate, said in January during a panel at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium that TWZ attended. “And we choose not to do it because there’s always some other problem I’ve got to fix. I don’t have time. Our corrosion can wait. And so we don’t implement the fixes.”

Finding a solution to the Navy’s rust problem became one of Lattner’s main missions in the wake of the fallout from Trump’s late-night texts to Navy officials demanding answers about the condition of the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey after he saw pictures of it covered in running rust as it pulled into Singapore last year.

A picture of the USS Dewey covered in ‘running rust’ during a recent port visit in Singapore is shown at the confirmation hearing for Secretary of the Navy nominee John Phelan on January 27, 2025. (Senate Armed Services Committee screen capture) Senate Armed Services Committee capture

Port calls offer critical time to fix long-standing issues and resupply the ship of pretty much everything you can think of, from jet fuel to food. So it’s no surprise that the Lincoln would be swarmed with support personnel and supplies while much of her crew enjoys being on land once again for a few days.

It’s unclear how long the clean-up work on the Lincoln will last or how much of it will be finished by the time the ship and crew leave port. Either way, from what we have seen so far, it will look much better leaving Thailand than when it arrived.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

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发布于美国东部时间2026年9月4日晚上7:03

（图片来源：© TNP/Arnun Chonmahatrakool/Thai News Pix/LightRocket via Getty Images）

美国海军超级航母“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号抵达泰国时，看起来就像刚刚在海上航行了286天，如今它正在接受急需的维护保养。9月2日，“林肯”号抵达泰国林查班港时，船体两侧布满了锈迹斑斑的藻类。舰上其他部分，特别是飞行甲板边缘和两侧舷侧凸起处，也显得十分破旧。这艘航母的状况清晰地展现了它及其船员在漫长的部署期间所经历的艰辛，其中包括在对伊朗战争中扮演的关键角色。

社交媒体上流传着一段当地工人清理这艘货轮的视频。视频中可以看到两名工人在脚手架平台上，身穿银色防护服，头戴黄色安全帽和面罩，脚穿黑色靴子，正在喷洒船体侧面。可以看出，他们工作区域的大部分锈迹以及所有绿色藻类都已被清除干净。

镜头也扫过整艘船，显示了仍需完成的工作量。

最近在泰国流传的关于“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航空母舰（CVN-72）锈蚀的照片/视频有些夸大其词。没错，照片里船体看起来确实很破旧，但舰体本身从未受到质疑，而这正是媒体忽略的关键所在。今天在泰国林查班港，当地…… pic.twitter.com/b8SP2oyrJZ — Comandante🎖️ (@commandante_) September 4, 2026

最近在泰国流传的关于“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航空母舰（CVN-72）锈蚀的照片/视频有些夸大其词。没错，照片上船体看起来确实很粗糙，但舰体本身从未受到质疑，而这正是媒体报道忽略的部分。今天在泰国林查班港，当地…… pic.twitter.com/b8SP2oyrJZ

目前尚不清楚这项工作是早已列入例行维护计划，还是在船舶状况恶劣的照片曝光后才下令进行的。这艘船甚至在抵达泰国之前就已备受关注。

2月28日，林肯号航母及其所属的第三航母打击群参与了对伊朗的首次打击行动，美军称之为“史诗狂怒行动”。此后数月，林肯号及其打击群继续支援“史诗狂怒行动”以及后续针对伊朗的军事行动。上个月，由于一系列关于舰员士气和心​​理健康状况严重低落的报道，最终决定将该航母轮换出该地区。上个月，一名水兵因故意跳海而获救。另有报道称，舰上至少还有一人试图跳海。包括唐纳德·特朗普总统和国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯在内的多位人士，都对该舰上的心理健康和其他问题表示担忧。

林肯号抵达泰国后，由于其船体状况，以及船员在海上航行如此之久后在泰国港口停靠会遇到什么情况，人们对它的兴趣再次高涨。

亚伯拉罕·林肯号航空母舰 (CVN-72) 于 2026 年 9 月 2 日抵达泰国是拉差的林查班港。 （摄影：Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images）

正如我们在最初报道“林肯”号抵达泰国时所提到的，美国海军舰艇的锈蚀问题多年来一直备受诟病，包括来自唐纳德·特朗普总统的批评。这部分原因在于，美国海军舰艇上如此明显的磨损会造成负面的视觉形象，尤其是在停靠外国港口期间。

“太糟糕了。我觉得他们应该感到羞耻，”约翰·费兰去年在国会听证会上对议员们说道。当时，他看到了阿利·伯克级驱逐舰“杜威”号在新加坡停靠期间的照片，照片显示这艘驱逐舰看起来非常破旧。“你们想上那艘船吗？”

一位海军官员今年早些时候指出，影响林肯号等舰艇状况的一个主要因素是部署的作战节奏。

“我们知道该怎么做，但我们选择不做，”海军系统工程局舰艇完整性和性能工程主任马克·拉特纳 (Mark Lattner) 在今年一月举行的水面舰艇协会年度研讨会上（TWZ 也参加了此次研讨会）的一个小组讨论会上说道。“我们选择不做，是因为总有其他问题需要解决。我没时间。腐蚀问题可以等等。所以我们没有实施修复措施。”

在特朗普深夜向海军官员发短信，要求他们解释阿利·伯克级导弹驱逐舰“杜威”号的状况之后，解决海军的锈蚀问题成为了拉特纳的主要任务之一。此前，特朗普看到了“杜威”号去年驶入新加坡时满身锈迹的照片。

2025年1月27日，在海军部长提名人约翰·费兰的确认听证会上，展示了一张“杜威”号驱逐舰在近期访问新加坡期间锈迹斑斑的照片。（参议院军事委员会截图）

靠港为解决长期存在的问题和补充几乎所有你能想到的物资提供了宝贵的时间，从航空燃料到食品，应有尽有。因此，林肯号航母上挤满了后勤人员和补给品也就不足为奇了，而大部分船员也得以再次享受几天的陆地时光。

目前尚不清楚“林肯”号的清理工作将持续多久，也不清楚在船舶和船员离开港口时能完成多少。但无论如何，从我们目前所见，它离开泰国时的样子肯定比抵达时好得多。

联系作者：howard@twz.com

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