Two individuals sustained minor injuries after a collision between a U.S. destroyer and a supply ship on Wednesday while transferring supplies, according to U.S. Southern Command.
“The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG103) and the Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6) collided during a replenishment-at-sea,” Col. Emmanuel Ortiz said in a statement. “Two personnel reported minor injuries and are in stable condition. Both ships have reported sailing safely. The incident is currently under investigation.”
A U.S. official added that the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg was on the other side of the USNS Supply. The USNS Supply was in the middle of the USS Gettysburg and the USS Truxtun when it collided with the Truxtun.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the collision.
Since August, the Navy has built up a presence of warships in or near the Caribbean Sea as part of the Pentagon’s stated goal of countering narcotics. Since then, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against alleged drug boats and imposed the partial quarantine President Trump announced back in December on sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela.
Replenishments-at-sea to deliver essential supplies and equipment are complicated missions that involve two ships sailing side by side. They can take days to prepare for and several hours to complete.
The USS Truxtun arrived in Fourth Fleet earlier this week, joining about a dozen ships currently near South America, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier the USS Gerald R. Ford.
The two individuals who sustained minor injuries were not transported for treatment, a U.S. official said.
While this is the first known mishap in the Caribbean, the Navy recently had a string of accidents in the Middle East involving the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group that were caused in part by the high stress environment.
Over the course of its deployment from September 2024 through May 2025, the group had a friendly fire incident in December — when a Navy destroyer launched missiles at two F-18s — a collision with a merchant ship in February and lost two F-18s, one in April and another in May.
