What is the truth about the condition of the aircraft carrier Lincoln?

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln set sail from the port of San Diego on 21 November 2025, positioning itself off the Iranian coast at the end of January, just a few days before the Israeli-American operation against Iran, "Epic Fury": It has been moored in the Arabian Sea for over 260 days, with more than 5,000 sailors and marines on board, and rumours had already begun to circulate months ago about the appalling conditions on board – photos of poor-quality, rationed food, water shortages, mouldy showers and broken washing machines – alongside the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford. A few days ago, the Iranian news agency Wana reported that “a violent and bloody clash between crew members” had taken place on the American aircraft carrier, in which, “according to a report published by a well-informed military source”, seven crew members were said to have died and several others injured.

Yesterday, in addition to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth – who stated that conditions on board the aircraft carrier had been ‘completely misrepresented’ – US Central Command published several headlines on X – many of Iranian origin – to refute the report: “These are FALSE reports,” it wrote. “The sailors and marines of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and determined after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 sorties and 1.5 million pounds of ammunition expended. No crew member on board the aircraft carrier has died, and the sole sailor who fell overboard on 3 August was recovered quickly and safely. The misinformation circulating widely about the Abraham Lincoln’s historic deployment does a disservice to our men and women in uniform and their loved ones.” Back in March, some Iranian social media accounts had circulated a video of a ship on fire, passing it off as the USS Abraham Lincoln struck by an Iranian attack: “Artificial intelligence can be very dangerous; we must be very careful,” US President Donald Trump had said in response to questions from journalists about the unverified reports published by Iranian sources.

 

Yet criticism of the appalling conditions on board the ship is not limited to state media and accounts linked to Tehran: this week, even the military-focused publications Navy Times and Stars and Stripes devoted considerable space to accounts from personnel on the aircraft carrier, citing the concerns of family members who met with senior US Navy officials in San Diego on Thursday. One sailor reportedly sent a message to his wife saying: “I hope I don’t wake up tomorrow”, whilst another allegedly attempted to throw himself overboard following several extensions to his tour of duty. The wife of another sailor recounted that her husband had prevented another crew member from jumping into the water, grabbing him and pulling him back onto the deck.  

In early August, MS Now spoke to around ten family members “who say they are extremely concerned about morale, safety and conditions on board the ship. They described a crew under severe strain from the demands of an unexpectedly long mission, whilst President Donald Trump continues to extend his military campaign against Iran with no clear end in sight”.  The prolonged time at sea is reportedly taking its toll on the mental health of some sailors; many have spoken of the constant noise from the ship’s engines and from aircraft taking off and landing, Commander Joseph Hontz, a spokesperson for the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, acknowledged that the Lincoln’s flight deck had handled over 10,000 flight sorties in the last eight months and that “over 250 days on mission pose a challenge for the crew and their equipment”.

Even Democrats in Congress have spoken out; Mike Levin wrote on X: "Mouldy showers, broken toilets, a laundry facility out of action for weeks, long periods without hot water, a meal reduced to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. (...) These men and women enlisted to serve their country. The least their country owes them is hot water, a working toilet and a proper meal.” Senator Richard Blumenthal has asked the Navy to provide clarification on the conditions on board the aircraft carrier, which “has been deployed for over 250 days” without being able to dock “for over 200 days, setting a record for the number of consecutive days at sea”.

Despite denials from the Administration, an exclusive report in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal revealed that the US military is reportedly preparing to send a new aircraft carrier to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln. According to some officials who spoke to the American newspaper, this is believed to be the USS George Washington, which left the port of Da Nang in Vietnam last week and is currently in the Strait of Malacca with its strike group.  Also yesterday, Trump ordered the Navy to dismantle the system for launching fighter aircraft from aircraft carriers and to revert to the use of steam catapults: Trump has been promising this decision for ten years, and since then the Navy’s top brass have opposed it, arguing that it would cost billions of dollars and force the Navy’s most advanced ships to revert to a system that requires more sailors to operate and is more difficult to maintain.