Commander of USS Harry S. Truman, a US Navy aircraft carrier, was released from his command Thursday more than a week after the ship collided with a merchant ship where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Suez Canal.
Colonel Dave Snowden was relieved by the loss of confidence in his ability to command, according to a press release. He is temporarily assigned to the Navy Atlantic, and a senior US Navy official told Fox News he was essentially a career ender.
“There shouldn't have happened. A ship that has not taken any steps to avoid a collision, it's on the captain. It'll stop with him,” a senior Navy official said.
Snowden's removal comes after Truman prepares to enter the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean after being involved in a collision with merchant Besikutas M on February 12th.
USS Harry S. Truman is involved in a collision near Egypt
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman will leave the Port of Marseille from the Mediterranean port of France on December 3, 2024. (Gerard Bottino/sopa Images/Lightrocket via Getty Images)
The airline, which passed near the harbor that night, said on his way back from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
A senior navy official added that when the carrier approached the mouth of the waterway, it was crowded and just before midnight.
The clash situation is under investigation, and officials have been added and not complete, but officials said relief from commanders was guaranteed.
USS Harry S. Truman Ship Collision Damage revealed in new photos
The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier was damaged in a collision with the merchant ship Besiktas-M on February 12, 2025. (US Navy photo: Cody Beam, Class 1 of Mass Communication Specialist)
“The US Navy will take action to keep commanders at the highest standards and hold them accountable when those standards are not met,” the press release reads. “Navy leaders are crucial to the sailors and the ships.”
Snowden was relieved to Lt. Gen. Shawn Bailey, commander of Career Strike Group 8, after serving as commander of aircraft carriers since December 2023. Meanwhile, Colonel Christopher Hill, commander of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, will temporarily serve as interim commander of Wiltruman.
The most fatal non-combatant aviation accident in the last five years
The clash that USS Harry S. Truman was involved on Wednesday, February 12th remains under investigation. (Jose Hernandez, US Navy Photography Chief Mass Communication Specialist)
The photo released by the Navy's 6th Fleet on Saturday shows tears in the stern on the right board side of Truman.
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The pipes running along the sides of the ship appear to be severely damaged, although all the damage is above the water supply.
The ship is currently being repaired in Greece's Gulf of Suda, and senior officials said it should be a few days before it can return to the Red Sea.
Greg Norman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
