Free Republic

If there ever was a need for a poster child for the neglect and indifference that characterizes the Biden-HARRIS administration's attitude towards governance, someone now could easily slap up a picture of the USNS Big Horn. The ship's sad story has all the elements that are now bedeviling the Americans it serves thanks to the malevolent, arrogant, indifferent clowns who currently rule over us. Almost a year ago, I wrote something I headlined, "US Maritime Woes: God Forbid We Go to War." I was trying to shine a light on the utterly shameful, almost downright criminal neglect with which the...

gCaptain has received multiple reports that the US Navy oiler USNS Big Horn ran aground yesterday and partially flooded off the coast of Oman, leaving the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group without its primary fuel source. First reported on the gCaptain forum and by maritime historian Sal Mercogliano, a leaked video and photos show damage to the ship’s rudder post and water flooding into a mechanical space. US Navy vessels don’t typically transmit AIS signals, so we don’t know the exact location of the ship but a Navy source confirms she is anchored near Oman awaiting a full damage assessment....

An American vessel fired on a boat Monday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, killing one person and injuring three, according to a U.S. consular official in Dubai. The official gave no further details, but it appeared the boat could have been mistaken as a threat in Gulf waters not far from Iran's maritime boundaries. Dozens of police and other Emirati officials crowded around the white-hulled boat, which sat docked after the incident in a small Dubai port used by fishermen and sailors. The boat appeared to be a civilian vessel about 30 feet (9 meters) long and...