2nd US aircraft carrier docks in Thailand after Mideast deployment for Iran war

A second US aircraft carrier has arrived in Thailand in just over a month after completing a six-month deployment supporting US military operations against Iran and a naval blockade in the Middle East.

The nuclear-powered USS George HW Bush is anchored around 1.78 nautical miles (3.3 kilometers) off Phuket Deep Sea Port, the Thai government’s Public Relations Department said Monday.

Over 5,100 US Navy personnel from the carrier and accompanying vessels will spend shore leave in Phuket through Friday.

The sailors are permitted to travel around the province but are prohibited from driving or riding as passengers on motorcycles, according to the government statement.

The US Navy said the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group had spent the previous six months supporting Operation Epic Fury — the US military operation against Iran — and enforcing the US naval blockade in the Middle East before moving into the US 7th Fleet area.

Phuket is its first port visit since leaving the US in March.

The visit comes about a month after the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at Thailand’s Laem Chabang port following nearly seven months of operations in the US Central Command area, including combat operations against Iran and enforcement of the naval blockade.