8 hours ago, The Oracle said:

Usually? Of course! But prior to arriving at Laem Chabang? Depends to whom you listen.

Ships, especially quarter-mile long beasts that are basically a 20 storey building tall, like Nimitz Class carriers, have huge stocks including contingency supplies for extended deployments. However, this extended deployment - going from the usual 30-45 days has gone over 260 days.

When the base in US navy's supply base in Bahrain was destroyed in the first retaliation by Iran on 28th February, the ability to resupply the carrier task force was severely compomised.
While not completely razed to the ground, it was rendered uninhabitable and unserviceable. This lead to lengthened the supply chains, thus leading to the shortages. I'm sure we've all seen photos of the meals being served at one point.

For what it's worth, I'm more inclined to believe the service members serving in the 7th Fleet and their families. They have stated that basic personal hygiene items have been scarce to non-existent.

Of course, during this resupply of the task force, these items will be replenished for purchase through the commissaries throughout the ships.

But, logically, the ease of access while on shore leave would mean personnel can do a quick personal stock up at the hundreds of local stores.

Perfect post. They had to rely on Diego Garcia 2500’miles away for a resupply. I’ve be there — hole in the wall island. Let those folks buy as much as they need imo while in the Kingdom. Ships at sea for 266 days run out of things. When your down to Eating corn and rice for food yeah Donnie fats “”they have not been out long enough” while he eats His 3rd Big Mac.

7 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Really, ? , as military personnel I bet they have more than you, or indeed any of the geriatrics on this forum , A few drunken Pattaya sex pats or lefty activists won't be causing them to shake with fear either ,

"Lefty activists"? In Thailand? Easy to see who is living rent-free in your head.

Edited Thursday at 01:24 PM4 days by Lacessit

I'm sure some will wonder if the closing of the ship to public is because the navy is afraid of people taking photos of the poor conditions on board. I wonder that too. But, in reality, on the other hand, there has been so much publicity about this port call, that it makes sense (to me) to close it for security reasons (and espionage). If it was a quiet port call of some non descript US navy ship they may well have welcomed public tours.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is a warship involved in combat support in a (sometimes hot) military conflict, not a Carnival Line cruise ship. A reality of war is that nonessential supplies may run short. I doubt very much the Lincoln ran out of soap or toothpaste, but some preferred brands might not have been available due to problems with restocking. I'm sure the carrier's crew can survive without their favorite body wash or deodorant for a few weeks.

Of more concern are the reports the crew was forced to work abnormally long shifts. That is something the navy brass needs to look into, as responsibility for overworking the crew rests with the ship's captain and officers.

1 hour ago, Evil Penevil said:

Of more concern are the reports the crew was forced to work abnormally long shifts

absolutely shocking the poor dears

2 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

I'm sure some will wonder if the closing of the ship to public is because the navy is afraid of people taking photos of the poor conditions on board. I wonder that too. But, in reality, on the other hand, there has been so much publicity about this port call, that it makes sense (to me) to close it for security reasons (and espionage). If it was a quiet port call of some non descript US navy ship they may well have welcomed public tours.

Its an active military war ship, not a tourist attraction .

9 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Maybe while in port they can slip round to Home Pro and get a few tins of Battleship Grey to paint over the Rust. Looks like a delivery to the breakers yard.

If there's any painting to be done it won't be getting done by foreigners, not in light of the current crackdown , or without a work permit. But It does look a bit rough . they will have to get somchai and the lads round and lend them some paintbrushes

14 hours ago, The Oracle said:

Yep.

The local Sevens and Mini Big Cs will be strip-mined for razor blades, FHPs, toothpaste and brushes, deodorant, shampoo, wet wipes, lower-priced cigarettes, and vitamin D drinks.

With another month or so of travelling back to North Island, the revictualling of the carrier group across the three ports is a boon to Thai primary producers.

Are you certain the food is being supplied from local suppliers? I was under the impression that the supply of vessels considered in service/underway was through one of the existing supply depots, the closest being in Japan. The food would be brought in by the designated contractor holding the husbanding contract. This is done for security purposes to reduce the potential for intentional or accidental food contamination and terrorist activity such as the planting of an explosive device.

It is much easier to restrict foreign sourced items than it is to screen every item going on board.

USS Abraham Lincoln closed to visitors at Laem Chabang

Good move IMO in a place where LE is so venal.

Tomorrow's news today!

Sudden condom shortage in Thailand, emergency supplies are arriving!

Photo taken tomorrow.

7 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

You do realize the ocean is salt water? it's very corrosive and the ship has been at sea for a long time!

I worked building all warships from HMS Invincible to Type 42 , 45 destroyers and most of our Astute class Submarines, I can assure you this corrosian and rusting is due to lack of maintainence doesn't need a dry docking just a preservation of painting.

5 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

I'm sure some will wonder if the closing of the ship to public is because the navy is afraid of people taking photos of the poor conditions on board. I wonder that too. But, in reality, on the other hand, there has been so much publicity about this port call, that it makes sense (to me) to close it for security reasons (and espionage). If it was a quiet port call of some non descript US navy ship they may well have welcomed public tours.

You only need to place Personel in sensitive areas allowing visitors the living quarters mess's etc hangers, flight deck.

3 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Are you certain the food is being supplied from local suppliers? I was under the impression that the supply of vessels considered in service/underway was through one of the existing supply depots, the closest being in Japan. The food would be brought in by the designated contractor holding the husbanding contract. This is done for security purposes to reduce the potential for intentional or accidental food contamination and terrorist activity such as the planting of an explosive device.

It is much easier to restrict foreign sourced items than it is to screen every item going on board.

Do the Yanks not use Supply vessels for replenishing foods and mail delivery's and fuel.

3 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Do the Yanks not use Supply vessels for replenishing foods and mail delivery's and fuel.

Seems our commamders are more concerned with gold plating everything and changing names of lakes and such than being bothered with little things like planning out an endless war and how that actually works.

17 hours ago, The Oracle said:

However, this extended deployment - going from the usual 30-45 days has gone over 260 days.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

US aircraft carriers: They take on JP fuel often while underway, every few days. And during underway replenishment, the ship gets resupplied often, and in between when they take FFV (Fresh Fruit Veggies). Very rare to run out of specific brands of product in the ship's '7/11' size store. The duration was not an issue and never would be...could have stayed indefinitely and only need to refuel with JP and resupply ordnance and supplies.

Any maintenance that is needed can usually be completed without returning to port. This deployment was just an extended normal routine. 30-45 days...555555

3 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Do the Yanks not use Supply vessels for replenishing foods and mail delivery's and fuel.

Yes, Military Sealift Command supplies the Navy ships with food, fuel and bombs. They conduct underway repleshments.

8 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Are you certain the food is being supplied from local suppliers? I was under the impression that the supply of vessels considered in service/underway was through one of the existing supply depots, the closest being in Japan. The food would be brought in by the designated contractor holding the husbanding contract. This is done for security purposes to reduce the potential for intentional or accidental food contamination and terrorist activity such as the planting of an explosive device.

It is much easier to restrict foreign sourced items than it is to screen every item going on board.

Certain? No.
I'm not privy to the supply chain logistics for fresh food. But I, perhaps mistakenly, assumed that if the vessels are docking here, they'd be provisioned by local producers with contracts.
If incorrect, I stand corrected.
As you say, logically, it probably depends on such things as mutual defence contracts and vetted suppliers along the chain.
I'm sure that those aboard will be doing their best to ensure the safety and security of all personnel.

9 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Its an active military war ship, not a tourist attraction .

Agree. Just pointing out sometimes they do allow the public to have a walk through (supervised by a crew member). I also agree (if you read my post) that this time it makes sense to not offer a tour and have the ships more closely watched (security). I once went through the USS Triploi during a port call (the first USS Tripoli - Helo carrier).

4 minutes ago, The Oracle said:

Certain? No.
I'm not privy to the supply chain logistics for fresh food. But I, perhaps mistakenly, assumed that if the vessels are docking here, they'd be provisioned by local producers with contracts.
If incorrect, I stand corrected.
As you say, logically, it probably depends on such things as mutual defence contracts and vetted suppliers along the chain.
I'm sure that those aboard will be doing their best to ensure the safety and security of all personnel.

I couldn't find any ice cream at any of my nearby 7-11s yesterday. I am not far from Laem Chabang so suspect it has all gone to the Abe Lincoln!

Not surprising.
While personnel aren't allowed to reheat or cook their own food onboard nothing stops them from inhaling four pints of choc chip once they disembark. And, sure, your guys down in Chon Buri may have short-term supply issues of your own for a week. But I'm sure yuou can handle it. Some of the guys and gals onboard may not have seen much natural light - if any if deep enough in the ship - or had actual fresh air for weeks or months.
The idea of doing any exercise like doing laps of the flight deck, would have been severely curtailed during the high tempo operations.

And I'm sure such provisions are resourced locally. The Thai and US militaries have formal treaties.

When these big boys and their support vessels arrive in allied ports in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Australia they generally resupply fresh produce and semi-perishables locally.

I mention food and personal hygiene products specifically. The supply for those, as someone posted, had to come from an island in the Indian Ocean some 2500 miles away, when the base in Bahrain was disabled.

Do you recall the US wanted to buy the Chagos Archipelgo directly from Mauritius in June this year? About three and a half months after the Iranians crippled the US base in Bahrain.
It's just a coincidence, isn't it, that the Chago Archipelago is where the joint US-UK base Diego Garcia is.

The UK agreed to give Chagos back to Mauritius and then lease it for 99 year (a la Hong Kong 1898-1997) and continue with the status quo of joint operational control with the US.

The US wanted the whole archipelago for itself as a territory and have complete operational control, so went to Mauritius directly, without the UK, and offered to buy it.

7 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

I worked building all warships from HMS Invincible to Type 42 , 45 destroyers and most of our Astute class Submarines, I can assure you this corrosian and rusting is due to lack of maintainence doesn't need a dry docking just a preservation of painting.

The oxidation, rust, needs to be removed before any painting can take place.

Once the rust is removed, the area must be properly edged and cleaned.

As soon as the metal is clean and dry, workers will apply a heavy-duty, anti-corrosive primer (often a zinc-rich epoxy or MIL-PRF-23236 compliant coating) directly onto the bare metal. This primer chemically bonds to the steel and acts as a sacrificial barrier.

Only after the primer has fully cured do they roll or spray two coats of the MIL-PRF-24635 Haze Gray topcoat over the primed patches.

All this will done when they get home to San Diego.

Agree won't need to be dry docked, but it will go into an extended pierside Continuous Maintenance Availability (CMAV)

https://sccd.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/rnweb/news/ships/queen-elizabeth/20260508-a-thrilling-welcome-home-for-hms-queen-elizabeth/fleet-20241126-ze0150-0024.jpg?rev=0772c231db1b4ce4ad1263fd5bc31a6fThis is what a well maintained Carrier should look like not like that Rust Bucket berthed in Patts.

4 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

https://sccd.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/rnweb/news/ships/queen-elizabeth/20260508-a-thrilling-welcome-home-for-hms-queen-elizabeth/fleet-20241126-ze0150-0024.jpg?rev=0772c231db1b4ce4ad1263fd5bc31a6fThis is what a well maintained Carrier should look like not like that Rust Bucket berthed in Patts.

From your link.

Edited Friday at 06:05 AM3 days by CallumWK

10 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

I worked building all warships from HMS Invincible to Type 42 , 45 destroyers and most of our Astute class Submarines, I can assure you this corrosian and rusting is due to lack of maintainence doesn't need a dry docking just a preservation of painting.

Firstly it is corrosion. Then lets get to the rust.

The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) became heavily rusted because it spent a record-breaking 286 consecutive days at sea without a standard port call for exterior maintenance. [1, 2]

Key Reasons for the Heavy Rust

• No Port Stops: Fighting continuous combat operations in the Middle East meant the ship could not dock to perform routine sanding, priming, and painting. [1, 2]

• Harsh Ocean Environment: Saltwater and constant motion cause rapid paint wear and corrosion, especially near the waterline and flight deck edges. [1, 2]

• Safety Rules at Sea: Crew members cannot safely dangle over the sides to fix and repaint the hull while the massive warship is actively running operations at sea. [1, 2]

Naval experts note that this amount of cosmetic rust is normal for any warship after months of continuous deployment and does not mean the ship is structurally unsafe or incapable of performing its mission

No body said the ship is structually damaged. You cannot get corroded paint that bad in under a year, surface patches yes its just paintwork, but it looks worse then just faded paintwork. If its that bad above the water line whats the hull like underwater.

Edited Friday at 06:27 AM3 days by BarraMarra

14 hours ago, NedR69 said:

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

US aircraft carriers: They take on JP fuel often while underway, every few days. And during underway replenishment, the ship gets resupplied often, and in between when they take FFV (Fresh Fruit Veggies). Very rare to run out of specific brands of product in the ship's '7/11' size store. The duration was not an issue and never would be...could have stayed indefinitely and only need to refuel with JP and resupply ordnance and supplies.

Any maintenance that is needed can usually be completed without returning to port. This deployment was just an extended normal routine. 30-45 days...555555

so why did the captain when interviewed in pattaya say they had run short of fresh fruit and vegs?

13 hours ago, pomchop said:

so why did the captain when interviewed in pattaya say they had run short of fresh fruit and vegs?

Because he wasn't speaking through his colon.

Perishables like fresh veg and dairy are renewed every 10-14 days. Normally.
Along with tinned and other items with long shelf life (rice, pasta, flour, sugar and so forth) frozen goods held in reefers (massive refrigeration units) .
Generally, the reefers would hold 30-45 days of ingredients for meals. They are resupplied on-the-go with general rotation so the sailors, marines, and aviators on board don't suffer from a thing called "menu fatigue" - having the same thing for BLD for weeks at a time. This is done both throughout the normal refrigeration cycle (I can't remember if the menu is rotated every two or three weeks) and things get changed up around holidays and religious periods like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Assuming a minimum complement of 5,000 personnel:

That's 5,000 personnel x three meals a day x number of days.
5000*3*30 = 450,000 to 5000*3*45 = 675,000 meals.

If the supply chain is disrupted over an extended period caused by something like, I don't know destroying the resupply base and having all the other bases in the region under immediate threat then the supply chain is lengthened.
In this case, according to publicly available reports, Diego Garcia was the main supply base, 2,200 miles away. Any fresh fruit or veg loaded at DG would be halfway through its shelf life by the time it got to the Persian Gulf after a five journey and an additional; day for loading onto the various ships in the carrier group.

Of course, most personal hygiene items are lower down the priority list for resupply from such long supply chain and after 200 days one would expect shortages.

Supply vessels containing fuel or replacement ordnance do not suffer this issue as they are not perishable. But the humans those on the ships still require sustenance.

The USS George Washington is going to have the same issue.

Edited Saturday at 01:19 AM2 days by The Oracle

Meanwhile, onshore:

PATTAYA — Thai police responded to an early-morning fight involving two American from the USS Abraham Lincoln outside a bar near Pattaya’s Walking Street, with the sailors later restricted to the aircraft carrier for the remainder of its port visit.

The incident occurred at about 01:30 on Thursday near Walking Street, one of Pattaya’s best-known nightlife areas, after a Thai citizen called emergency services to report a physical altercation.

Police described the incident as minor but said the two American sailors were drunk. The Thai caller was concerned that the fight could escalate without police intervention.

Thai police and members of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s shore liaison group were dispatched to the scene through the Thai emergency call centre.

The two Americans were taken to the joint operations centre run by the US Navy and Thai authorities at the Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya.

Police said the sailors were subsequently returned to the aircraft carrier. During a daily security meeting between US Navy officials and Thai authorities, Navy officials told him that the two service members had been restricted to the ship for the remainder of the port call.

He said he had made the position clear to Navy officials and was satisfied that the Lincoln’s crew had been properly briefed about the consequences of misconduct while in Thailand

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2026/09/04/two-us-sailors-restricted-to-ship-after-pattaya-bar-brawl/

On 9/4/2026 at 2:05 AM, CallumWK said:

From your link.

This is an image of a ship that remains in port due to mechanical issues.

Industry analysis indicates that the systemic mechanical backlogs have left the twin carriers spending an unusually high proportion of their operational life in port under repair rather than active deployment. [1]

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/09/aircraft-carrier-hms-prince-of-wales-has-spent-about-1-third-of-its-life-in-port-under-repair-and-only-about-1-fifth-of-it-at-sea-the-2-queen-elizabeth-class-carriers-cost-7600000000/

36 minutes ago, bannork said:

Meanwhile, onshore:

PATTAYA — Thai police responded to an early-morning fight involving two American from the USS Abraham Lincoln outside a bar near Pattaya’s Walking Street, with the sailors later restricted to the aircraft carrier for the remainder of its port visit.

The incident occurred at about 01:30 on Thursday near Walking Street, one of Pattaya’s best-known nightlife areas, after a Thai citizen called emergency services to report a physical altercation.

Police described the incident as minor but said the two American sailors were drunk. The Thai caller was concerned that the fight could escalate without police intervention.

Thai police and members of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s shore liaison group were dispatched to the scene through the Thai emergency call centre.

The two Americans were taken to the joint operations centre run by the US Navy and Thai authorities at the Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya.

Police said the sailors were subsequently returned to the aircraft carrier. During a daily security meeting between US Navy officials and Thai authorities, Navy officials told him that the two service members had been restricted to the ship for the remainder of the port call.

He said he had made the position clear to Navy officials and was satisfied that the Lincoln’s crew had been properly briefed about the consequences of misconduct while in Thailand

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2026/09/04/two-us-sailors-restricted-to-ship-after-pattaya-bar-brawl/

Sailors getting drunk during shore leave? That can't be true!

On 9/4/2026 at 9:54 AM, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Only after the primer has fully cured do they roll or spray two coats of the MIL-PRF-24635 Haze Gray topcoat over the primed patches.

Hopefully, the company with the no-bid contract to fix the Reflecting Pool will not be involved....