A fire broke out on the United States Navy’s San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD-18) off the coast of Okinawa on Wednesday, the US 7th Fleet has confirmed. The warship was moored near White Beach in Uruma City, home of a large US naval facility, at the time of the incident.

“Crews are responding to a fire aboard USS New Orleans this afternoon, Aug. 20, which is in the vicinity of Okinawa, Japan,” the US Navy said in a statement to USNI News. “We will provide more details as they become available.”

The fire is reported to have broken out at around 5 pm local time (4 am EST), and US military crews were joined by units from the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to extinguish it. Japanese media reports and photos posted to social media showed smoke and fire rising from the ship, as well as numerous firefighting ships that were on the scene.

“A fire has broken out on a US vessel off the coast of White Beach. The crew is currently engaged in firefighting efforts, but we have requested the Japan Coast Guard to provide firefighting assistance,” a Japan Coast Guard official told national broadcaster NHK.

At time of publication, there have been no reports of casualties, but that could change as........

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