USS Theodore Roosevelt Leaves Singapore for the Gulf

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) cleared Changi Naval Base in Singapore after a three-day stop and was nearly through the Strait of Malacca around midnight on November 8. She is heading across the Indian Ocean to the U.S. Central Command area.

Roosevelt leads Carrier Strike Group 9. Her escorts are USS Chosin, USS Paul Hamilton, and USS Decatur. The Maritime Executive estimated the group could reach the North Arabian Sea by November 16.

The ship is expected to relieve USS George Washington, which has been in the Middle East. She is the third American carrier group to head for the region in recent weeks; USS George H.W. Bush has been in the Arabian Sea since April.

Iran's armed forces declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to violating vessels in late October. On November 8, the IRGC struck three tankers near Khasab, Oman in the Strait, the same night Roosevelt's group was clearing Singapore.

A U.S. official told Axios the group would not reach CENTCOM's area of responsibility before mid-November.