US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz heads to the Middle East
The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is headed to the Middle East, where it will be stationed, as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates into a full-scale war.
The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz departed the South China Sea on Monday, sailing west, according to data from the ship tracking website Marine Traffic, as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies.
The carrier had been scheduled for a port visit to Danang City in central Vietnam later this week. However, two sources—including a diplomat—confirmed to Reuters that a formal reception planned for June 20 was cancelled. One of them cited a notice from the US Embassy in Hanoi attributing the cancellation to an emergent operational requirement.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group conducted maritime security operations in the South China Sea last week, as part of the U.S. Navy’s routine presence in the Indo-Pacific , according to U.S. Pacific Fleet Command.
The move comes as military activity intensifies in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow maritime corridor responsible for nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply and a growing proportion of liquefied natural gas shipments. Iranian lawmakers have publicly hinted at the potential closure of the strait, while regional surveillance data confirms a rise in electronic interference disrupting commercial vessel tracking.
Last week, the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group carried out maritime security operations in the South China Sea as part of what the US Pacific Fleet described as a routine naval presence in the Indo-Pacific.
As of Monday morning, tracking data showed the vessel changing course and heading west, raising speculation about possible redeployment toward the Middle East, where US interests face heightened risk amid ongoing Iranian-Israeli hostilities.
