The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford returned to sea Thursday after a five-day port call in Split, Croatia, the service announced.
The stop, which followed a brief visit to Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Crete, comes as the Navy’s largest carrier has been plagued by maintenance issues that interrupted the ship’s participation in combat operations against Iran.
A non-combat fire in the ship’s laundry room on March 12 injured multiple sailors, caused smoke-related issues among hundreds of personnel and damaged 100 sleeping berths.
The Ford has also experienced well-documented issues with its plumbing system, with the carrier’s water transport and disposal vacuum causing repeated clogs among the ship’s 650 toilets.
The release did not specify whether the Ford would be returning to combat operations as part of Operation Epic Fury.
“Gerald R. Ford remains poised for full mission tasking in support of national objectives in any area of operation,” the release stated.
The ship has now been deployed for more than nine months, having departed from its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, on June 24, 2025. It has conducted operations in the Arctic Circle, Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea during that span.
Speaking Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said the carrier is likely to reach 11 months deployed by the time it returns home, potentially eclipsing the recent at-sea high of 341 days set by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and its strike group departed from Naval Station Norfolk on Tuesday, meanwhile, for a regularly scheduled deployment.
Whether the carrier Bush will relieve the Ford or act as an additional force amid ongoing combat operations has not been announced.
As the Ford underwent maintenance in port, sailors were able to disembark and enjoy local attractions, the release stated. Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12, was joined by other group commanders in meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Nicole McGraw, the release stated.
The carrier Ford is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 12, which includes the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, Destroyer Squadron 2 and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 8.
J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
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