Islam Times - US warship cancels Sixth Fleet mission after major fire

Islam Times - An American warship, which was set to join the United States Sixth Fleet, is returning to its home port in Florida after it caught fire earlier this week, causing significant damage but no injuries.

The US Navy said on Wednesday that the USS Hue City is still operating under its own power, but the damage is so extensive that it cannot continue its mission.

The Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser “is currently transiting toward Mayport in company with USS Gettysburg (CG 64),” said Lt. Cmdr. Reann Mommsen.

The fire erupted on Monday evening in one of the ship's gas turbine generators, and later spread to other decks of the USS Hue City, which has about 330 personnel onboard.

The incident happened when the ship was about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda.

The guided-missile destroyer was headed for a deployment in the "United States Sixth Fleet area of responsibility," which covers the western Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

According to the Navy, the Sixth Fleet, which is headquartered in Italy, “conducts the full range of Maritime Operations and Theater Security Cooperation missions in concert with coalition, joint, interagency and other parties in order to advance security and stability in Europe and Africa.”