Yemen Monitor/ Marib/ Exclusive:
In a move reflecting growing security concerns in the Red Sea, military reports have revealed that the American aircraft carrier “George Bush” has altered its traditional route, preferring to circumnavigate the African continent rather than transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This coincides with Washington beginning the imposition of a comprehensive naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. defense sources reported that the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is currently off the coast of Namibia, en route to rounding the African continent to reach the Arabian Sea—according to USNI News, a site specializing in the U.S. Navy.
This long and unusual path is intended to avoid passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, which have witnessed intensive drone and missile attacks by the Houthi group over the past two years.
The decision by U.S. Naval Command not to send the carrier “Bush” and its strike group—which includes the destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS Mason, and USS Ross—through the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb serves as a tacit acknowledgment of the high-threat environment established by the Houthis, as the US wishes to focus its current efforts on Iran.
It is worth noting that the last US aircraft carrier to risk transiting Bab el-Mandeb was the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in December 2023; since then, American destroyers have faced continuous attacks in that region.
This movement coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement regarding the start of a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) clarified that the blockade will be strictly applied to ships traveling to and from Iranian ports, with an exception for international navigation headed to other Gulf state ports, provided they undergo inspections to ensure they are not carrying “contraband.”
On the ground, the destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and USS Michael Murphy have begun mine-sweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz following the failure of ceasefire talks between Washington and Tehran. The carrier “Bush” is preparing to join a strike force that includes the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group currently stationed in the Arabian Sea, raising regional tensions to unprecedented levels.
