Last week, the expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams ran aground simply off Libreville, Gabon. The ship refloated and freed itself when the tide turned with out additional incident, a Navy spokesperson informed protection information media. 

In all, the ship was aground for about 4 hours. In an announcement, the Navy mentioned that no accidents or main harm had been reported. The circumstances of the grounding are below investigation. 

The Williams was in Gabon as a part of the commonly recurring Obangame Express train, a counter-piracy and maritime safety partnership with a number of nations all through the area. The Gulf of Guinea is an on-and-off hotspot for maritime piracy, and the worldwide help mission is a part of an effort to forestall any attainable resurgence. 

USS Herschel “Woody” Williams is a launchpad for particular operations and humanitarian help. She started life as a civilian-crewed Military Sealift Command vessel, however was commissioned into Navy service in 2020 due to the character of her mission set. She is forward-deployed to Souda Bay and is assigned to U.S. Africa Command. 

A sister ship of the Williams, the USS Lewis B. Puller, supported a daring (however tragic) raid on a dhow carrying Iranian weapons within the Gulf of Aden in January. 

Soft groundings just like the one which affected the Williams occur commonly in transport, and naval warships aren’t exempt. Last July, the dry shops auxiliary USNS Alan Shepard ran aground off Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain, when the grasp stepped off the bridge to get dinner. A junior officer had the conn, and maneuvered onto a soft-bottomed shoal about 20 minutes after he was handed the watch. An investigation discovered that he was trying to keep away from hitting a fishing vessel, and had misplaced situational consciousness. The vessel was undamaged. 

One month later, the destroyer USS Howard went aground whereas arriving in Bali for a port name. She refloated rapidly below her personal energy, and although there was no substantive harm, the commanding officer was swiftly eliminated and changed.