The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli was approaching Singapore, on the southwestern edge of the South China Sea, on Tuesday morning, according to AIS data seen by CNN.
US Navy ships often sail with their AIS transponders turned off. Detecting their position while passing through areas with heavy maritime traffic, such as the waters around Singapore, allows for safer operations.
The Wall Street Journal reported that additional Marines would be flown aboard the Tripoli to the Middle East. Those Marines are coming from the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), a 2,200-strong rapid response force, after the Pentagon ordered their deployment, according to three officials familiar with the plans.
The US Central Command announced that around 50,000 American soldiers are already in the Middle East as part of the war with Iran.
CNN has reached out to the US Navy’s 7th and 5th Fleets for comment.
Officials told CNN that the unit is being sent to the Middle East, but without disclosing the exact location of the deployment or its specific role.
The MEU consists of four elements: command, ground combat, air combat and logistics. MEU units are typically used for missions such as evacuations and amphibious operations that require a ship-to-shore transition, such as assaults and landings. They also have ground and air combat components, and some units are trained in special operations.
Marinetraffic.com showed the movement of an “unidentified US warship” that left Okinawa on March 11, passed through the South China Sea and approached Singapore on Tuesday morning at a speed of about 35 km/h.
Stationed in Sasebo, Japan, the nearly 260-meter long, 45,000-ton displacement Tripoli is essentially a small aircraft carrier and carries F-35 stealth fighters and MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft, as well as landing craft for transferring troops ashore.
She is the flagship of the amphibious battle group, which usually includes the amphibious transport ships USS New Orleans and USS San Diego. CNN could not confirm the presence of those smaller ships off Tripoli on Tuesday’s maritime tracking services.
(Vijesti.ba)
