Second US carrier docks in Thailand after Iran war deployment

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush anchored approximately 1.78 nautical miles off Thailand's Phuket Deep Sea Port on Monday for a scheduled port visit, arriving after six months of operations supporting the US military campaign against Iran and enforcement of a naval blockade in the Middle East, according to the Thai government's Public Relations Department.

Shore leave restrictions

More than 5,100 US Navy personnel from the carrier and its accompanying vessels will spend shore leave in Phuket through Friday, the department said. The sailors have been permitted to travel around the province but are prohibited from driving or riding as passengers on motorcycles during the visit.

Middle East deployment

The visit represents the first port call for the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group since departing the United States in March, the US Navy said. The vessel had spent the previous six months supporting Operation Epic Fury — the US military operation against Iran — and enforcing the American naval blockade in the Middle East before transitioning to the US 7th Fleet area of operations. The arrival comes approximately one month after the USS Abraham Lincoln docked at Thailand's Laem Chabang port following nearly seven months of operations in the US Central Command area, including combat operations against Iran and enforcement of the naval blockade.