US Navy minesweepers assigned to Middle East spotted in Malaysia
Two US Navy Littoral Combat Ships configured for mine countermeasure operations have appeared in Malaysia after previously being deployed in the Middle East.
The USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) were spotted at the North Butterworth Container Terminal in the Port of Penang, according to photos shared by a ship spotter, News.Az reports, citing TWZ.
Both ships, part of the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship fleet, are configured for mine countermeasure missions. They had been forward-deployed to Manama within the past year to replace the now-retired Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship vessels.
Their presence in Malaysia comes as maritime traffic through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz has nearly halted due to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping.
The scale of naval mining in the strait remains unclear, but any mines laid in the waterway would pose a serious threat to shipping and would need to be addressed before normal traffic can resume.
Defense and aviation reporter Mike Yeo was among the first to highlight the images circulating online. Further details about the ships’ movements and mission have not yet been officially confirmed.
USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara are among a select number of Independence class LCSs fitted with a mine countermeasures mission package, or “module.”
In its current form, the package includes towed mine-hunting sonar for the ships, Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) with mine-sweeping gear, and mine detection and neutralization systems carried by embarked MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters. We will come back to this configuration later on.
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