A Navy guided-missile cruiser and a dry cargo ship collided during an underway replenishment off the southeastern coast late Tuesday afternoon, according to U.S. Fleet Forces.

No personnel were injured and both the cruiser Leyte Gulf and the Robert E. Peary — a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition vessel operated by Military Sealift Command — were able to safely operate after their sterns touched around 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Navy press release issued about four hours later.

The statement said that both U.S. Fleet Forces and Military Sealift Command would investigate the incident and damage will be assessed when both ships return to port.

The ships were operating with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, officials said.

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The minor collision was first reported by USNI News, which quoted anonymous sources who indicated the Peary suffered an 8-inch gash above the waterline while the Ticonderoga-class cruiser reported minor damage to its flight deck netting, plus two dislodged lifeboats.

Military officials in Norfolk did not return messages by Navy Times seeking to confirm those reports.

The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is in the midst of its Composite Unit Training Exercise — or COMPTUEX — the flattop’s final war game evaluation before departing Norfolk and heading east on a global deployment that will take the carrier to its new homeport in California.

About Carl Prine

Prine came to Navy Times after stints at the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

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