The US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford left the Mediterranean Sea today, according to data from the maritime traffic website MarineTraffic, AFP reported. This reduces the US military presence in the Middle East amid a fragile ceasefire in the region, quoted by BTA.
The ship, the world's largest aircraft carrier, was filmed passing through the Strait of Gibraltar with dozens of fighter jets on board, heading for its base in Norfolk, Virginia.
According to the US Naval Institute, this is the longest deployment of a US aircraft carrier since the end of the Cold War.
However, about 20 US warships remain in the region, including the aircraft carriers “Abraham Lincoln“ and “George Bush“, US officials confirm.
Meanwhile, a French strike group led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is moving towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as part of efforts for a future international mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
France and Britain are coordinating preparations for such an operation, which aims to guarantee free passage through the key sea route through which a significant part of the world's oil supplies pass.