Supply shortages hit USS Abraham Lincoln after 9 months at Diego Garcia

Nine months at Diego Garcia. USS Abraham Lincoln has been at anchor there since early in the Iran war, after Iranian strikes on US bases in Bahrain forced the Navy to move its carrier operations roughly 2,200 miles to the southeast.

Crew members have gone more than 200 days without a port liberty call. Reports describe food shortages, contaminated water and plumbing failures that have built up over the extended stay.

USS George Washington is en route and expected to arrive in late August 2026. Once the handover is complete, Lincoln's crew is expected to head home.

The problems built up over nine months at a remote Indian Ocean atoll, far from the carrier's normal supply chain. Bahrain had the infrastructure to support a carrier group; Diego Garcia did not sustain that pace through nine months of continuous use.