USS Abraham Lincoln heads back to US after 5-day Thailand port visit

The USS Abraham Lincoln left for the US Sunday after a five-day port visit in Thailand and an extended deployment in the Middle East.

In a Sunday statement announcing the vessel’s departure, U.S. Navy Capt. Dan Keeler — the Lincoln’s commanding officer — thanked “the people of Thailand for their incredible hospitality” and for giving the 5,000 sailors and Marines a “recharge.”

“We are grateful to our Thai allies for hosting us, and we look forward to continuing our mission here in 7th Fleet, alongside Thailand and our other regional allies and partners,” Keeler said in his statement , released by the U.S. Embassy in Thailand.

Keeler added that the Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation program “worked with local Thai businesses to organize tours and events throughout the local area, allowing personnel to make the most of their port visit.”

The Lincoln is set to return to San Diego, where it departed in November in the months leading up to the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran. The embassy said the ship has been deployed for a total of 286 days, with their stint in Thailand being the ship’s first port stop after 264 uninterrupted days at sea.

The Lincoln was relieved by the USS George Washington, which reached the Middle East late last month, after several reports of poor conditions on the aircraft carrier — including food shortages, contamination, low morale among sailors and alleged suicide attempts.

At the time, President Trump dismissed these reports as “fake,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the reporting “completely misrepresented” the ship’s conditions. The controversy and the White House’s response prompted Democratic lawmakers to demand answers the Pentagon on what went wrong with the deployment.

Tensions escalated between the U.S. and Iran in recent days, with the U.S. launching strikes at 3 Iranian oil carriers on Kharg Island on Saturday after Iranian attacks on two U.S. Navy warships.

Iranian state media said Sunday that it attacked a U.S. ship trying to go into a restricted portion of the Strait of Hormuz.