The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) transited the Singapore Strait on Friday and is now operating in the South China Sea following a three-month stint in the Middle East.
The Nimitz CSG briefly joins the George Washington CSG in the Western Pacific. The forward-postured George Washington CSG is scheduled to return Saturday to its homeport of Yokosuka, Japan, according to the Yokosuka City Council.
Around noon local time Friday, automatic identification system data showed aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and destroyer USS Gridley (DDG-101) sailing east through the Singapore Strait. The vessel tracking data showed Nimitz east of the southeast coast of Peninsular Malaysia around 4 p.m. local time.
Nimitz deployed March 26 from its homeport of San Diego, Calif., to the Western Pacific on what is expected to be its final deployment. The aircraft carrier is supported by destroyers Gridley, USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123).
In its transit to the Western Pacific, the Nimitz CSG was joined in by cruiser USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), which conducted an independent deployment in the Western Pacific and returned Oct. 4 to California. The CSG was also joined by fleet oiler USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205), which followed the warships to the Middle East when the CSG was retasked there.
Nimitz was ordered in June to sail to the Middle East, where the Carl Vinson CSG was operating. The Carl Vinson CSG later returned to its homeport of San Diego, Calif., in mid-August at the conclusion of its eight-month deployment.
It is unclear how long the Nimitz CSG will operate in the South China Sea. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to visit nearby Malaysia on Oct. 26 to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
The Nimitz CSG is nearly seven months into its deployment. When USS George Washington (CVN-73) returns to Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka on Saturday, the Nimitz CSG will be the only aircraft carrier group underway in the Indo-Pacific. George Washington will be docked in Japan for a period of rest, supply and maintenance, the Yokosuka City Council said Friday.
George Washington previously departed Sept. 30 from Yokosuka following a monthlong break in its patrol, which began Jun. 10. The carrier has conducted fixed wing aircraft carrier qualification training while at sea the past two weeks.
