The “shit problems” continue to pile up on board the USS Gerald R. Ford. Continuous extension of missions creates a toilet crisis for the crew.
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Sewage problems on board the USS Gerald R. Ford. That is the reality of the world’s largest warship that US President Donald Trump has sent east as part of a large-scale military buildup in the Middle East.
It shows documents and e-mails that the American National Public Radio (NPR) has gained access to.
They show repeated problems with the ship’s sanitary system, and the website writes that the crew on board are becoming increasingly frustrated by regular errors that appear.
The major newspaper The Wall Street Journal has also covered the case.
PRESS: US President Donald Trump has sent large military forces against Iran.
“Continues to fail”
The problems are connected to the fact that the aircraft carrier has been at sea since June 2025. In October, the Pentagon redirected the USS Gerald R. Ford from its original mission in the Mediterranean to the Caribbean to support the US’s intensified action in the area up against Venezuela.
There were also problems with the ship’s sewage system then, writes NPR. Already in 2020, the US General Accountability Office reported that the toilet system was “undersized and poorly designed”.
– Gonna be a bad day
“The system continues to fail during deployment, forcing the crew of 4,600 sailors to live with a system that randomly breaks down during the months at sea,” quotes NPR.
The documents accessed by the website describe the ship’s efforts to deal with the casualties. They also showed that the problems with the sewage system increased in scope during 2025.
The system is partly derived from the cruise ship industry, but in addition the system used by the USS Gerald R. Ford is more complex.
Slowing down aft
An email dated 18 March 2025 from the engineering department to all commanders on the ship stated that 205 casualties had been recorded in four days.
Maintenance workers were reported to be lagging behind in the months leading up to USS Gerald R. Ford’s deployment.
“Our sewage system is abused and destroyed by sailors on a daily basis. My caretakers are currently working 19 hours a day to keep up with demand,” the email states.
Confirms possible attack
According to NPR, the “most expensive” problem is related to the accumulation of calcium that clogs pipes, especially on the ship’s lower deck. A 2020 General Accountability Office report said the Navy spends about $400,000 on one acid flush to restore the system.
This corresponds to close to four million kroner.
Information shows that the ship has been acid rinsed at least ten times since 2023. The work can only be carried out when the ship is in port.
Extended the deployment
During their stay in the Caribbean in January, the crew were told that the aircraft carrier’s deployment was being extended once again as they were tasked with crossing the Atlantic again, bound for the Middle East.
The main mission is to support potential American airstrikes against Iran, something The Wall Street Journal has mentioned, among others.
Stumbling on Trump’s war plan
Both US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have stated that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program and build long-range missiles after last year’s attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
– Everything they claim about Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles and the number of people killed during the unrest in January is simply a repetition of big lies, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, stated via a post on X.
On Thursday, envoys from Iran and the United States met in Geneva, Switzerland for new talks on a nuclear program agreement. They were reported by the Iranian side to be “intense” with “significant progress”.
The parties will meet for a new round of talks in Vienna, Austria, next week.
– Can’t get it
The record
A few days ago, the USS Gerald R. Ford arrived at the US naval base in Souda Bay, Crete, where the ship is expected to remain for four days, according to reports.
Overall, this means that the deployment of the ship has lasted well beyond what is considered “normal”.
– Deployments of aircraft carriers in peacetime usually last for six months, allowing for a few months to be exceeded if necessary, says Mark Montgomery, a retired US admiral, to The Wall Street Journal.
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The crew on board have already been at sea for eight months. With a possible extension of up to eleven months, it would break the record for a continuous deployment of a US Navy ship, according to Montgomery.
Avisa writes that long-term deployments can be challenging for the ships, because after eight months equipment starts to break down. Maintenance and upgrades that have been planned for a long time have to be postponed, which disrupts the schedule at the shipyards.
– It has a domino effect on the maintenance and training program for other ships as well, says Montgomery.
