Two U.S. warships "vanished" from the Middle East; Now they have been found PHOTO

Until recently, both ships had been deployed in the Middle East, in Bahrain, where they arrived last year to replace the fleet of now-retired Avenger-class mine countermeasure ships.Their sudden appearance thousands of kilometers away comes at a time when Iranian attacks on commercial vessels have practically halted maritime traffic through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.However, it is unclear to what extent Iran has already laid mines in the strait, but the threat remains a key concern for the future security of the waterway and will have to be taken into account in any attempt to reopen it, The War Zone writes.As of March 15&ndash;16, 2026, the USS Tulsa (LCS 16) and USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) were confirmed at the North Butterworth Container Terminal in Penang, Malaysia.Their sudden appearance approximately 3,000 nautical miles away from their duty station in the Middle East has raised&hellip; pic.twitter.com/mhndhPsImX&mdash; OzTrident 🥊🦘 (@deanegan) March 16, 2026Spotted in a Malaysian portA Malaysian resident posted photos of the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara, reportedly taken on March 15 at the North Butterworth container terminal in the port of Penang.Mike Yeo, an Australian defense and aviation journalist, was among the first to highlight the significance of these images. STRATEGIC MYSTERY: 2 of 3 US Navy minesweepers&mdash;USS Tulsa &amp; USS Santa Barbara&mdash;spotted in Malaysia, 3,000 miles from Bahrain.With Iran suspected of mining the Strait of Hormuz, why is 66% of the US mine-clearing fleet missing during a conflict? 🚩#USNavy #StraitOfHormuz #Iran&hellip; pic.twitter.com/YrQoYHuXCP&mdash; auraofTushar (@auraofTushar) March 16, 2026 The USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara are among the select Independence-class ships equipped for mine countermeasure missions.In their current configuration, this package includes mine-hunting sonar, unmanned surface vehicles (CUSVs) equipped for mine clearance, and mine detection and neutralization systems carried by MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters stationed on the ships.Interesting. The Littoral Combat Ships USS Tulsa and Santa Barbara, which were assigned rotationally to the Middle East and were supposed to be the US Navy&rsquo;s mine countermeasures platforms in that region, are now in Penang, Malaysia h/t @limzeruihttps://t.co/Fe0r7VizQm&mdash; Mike Yeo 杨启铭 (@TheBaseLeg) March 15, 2026No official explanationWhen asked why the ships appeared in Malaysia, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) referred journalists to the U.S. Navy&rsquo;s Fifth Fleet, which in turn redirected them back to CENTCOM.&bull; Two U.S. Navy minesweeping ships, the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara, have been spotted in Malaysia despite being previously deployed to Bahrain for Strait of Hormuz mine-clearing missions. Their absence means two of the three U.S. mine countermeasure ships assigned to the&hellip; pic.twitter.com/Q22lA9VPlO&mdash; Red Intel (@RedIntelHQ) March 16, 2026CENTCOM is the military command responsible for operations in the Middle East, while the Fifth Fleet is the naval component in charge of the region, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.Relocation amid the crisisU.S. military photos show that the USS Tulsa remained in port in Bahrain at least until February 9, while the USS Santa Barbara operated in the Persian Gulf until January 30.The current location of a third ship of the same class, the USS Canberra, which was also in the Middle East, is unknown.It is also unclear whether other mine countermeasure ships are en route to the region.Satellite images show that no U.S. warships were present in the port of Manama as of February 23, five days before the U.S. and Israel launched a joint operation against Iran.Relocating the ships from Bahrain was a rational security measure, given that the port is within range of Iranian missiles and drones.However, it remains unclear why the decision was made to send the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara thousands of kilometers east, rather than to a closer location.As a result of this move, at least two-thirds of U.S. warships designated for mine countermeasure missions in the Middle East are now positioned in an entirely different part of the world.

Two U.S. warships "vanished" from the Middle East; Now they have been found PHOTO

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