What We Know About The USS Abraham Lincoln’s Thailand Port Call

The USS Abraham Lincoln will make a port call in Thailand from September 2 to 6 on its way back to the United States after a roughly 250-day deployment in the Middle East, Thai defence officials said.

Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesperson for Thailand's Defence Ministry, said the visit was intended to allow the carrier's personnel to go ashore and recover after their extended deployment. He said there would be "no joint operation of any kind" with the Royal Thai Navy.

The Thai Navy's Naval Intelligence Department also reported that the Lincoln was scheduled to stop in Thailand in September for a break after more than 250 days on its Middle East mission.

Crew Rest, Not Exercises

Thai officials said the port call is being conducted under existing arrangements between Thailand and the United States and is focused solely on personnel recovery.

Crew members will be allowed to leave the ship during the visit, while Thai authorities will coordinate security arrangements. US personnel will be required to follow Thai laws and regulations while ashore.

Thailand also said the port call was not linked to the Lincoln's previous Middle East mission and would not involve the transfer of ammunition or other dangerous materials.

Long Middle East Deployment

The visit follows one of the Lincoln's longest deployments. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said the carrier had spent 266 days deployed, including 200 days in a combat zone, and had conducted more than 10,000 sorties while dropping about 1.5 million pounds of ordnance.

Cao said the carrier had been extended because "the mission demanded it", while defending the condition and performance of the sailors and Marines aboard. He said a small number of mental-health cases had been treated, meal plans had been adjusted when fresh supplies were unavailable and phone access had been restricted when the operational threat was high.

Why The Stop Matters

The Thailand visit gives the Lincoln's crew a scheduled break before the carrier returns to its US base, while also underlining the length of the deployment that kept the ship in the Middle East rather than the Indo-Pacific.

For Thailand, officials have sought to stress that the port call is a routine visit and not an expansion of military operations with the United States. The carrier will leave after the September 2-6 stop and continue its journey home.