U.S. sailor en route to Strait of Hormuz sidelined by monkey attack
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A long-tailed macaque, the most common monkey in Thailand. Photo: Lyvans Boolaky/Getty Images
A U.S. Navy sailor assigned to a minesweeping ship that's headed to the Strait of Hormuz was medically evacuated to his home port after he was scratched by an Asian monkey while ashore in Thailand, officials say.
Why it matters: The Navy reports that the incident did not delay the USS Chief's mission and that the sailor is OK, but officials say the attack is a reminder that military missions face unexpected troubles and disruptions that are hard to war-game for.
- "Weird stuff happens," one military official said. "This was definitely an unknown unknown."
Zoom in: The Navy dispatched the Chief and the USS Pioneer in mid-April from Southeast Asia to hunt and sweep for mines that Iran laid in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
- During a stopover in Phuket, Thailand, a Navy electronics technician — whom officials did not identify — encountered the monkey on shore and was scratched. It's unclear what kind of monkey was involved, but long-tailed macaques are common in Thailand and can be particularly aggressive.
- To ensure he had adequate medical care, the sailor was evacuated to the Chief's forward base in Sasebo, Japan.
- Word of the incident spread quickly in the Navy's tight-knit minesweeping community, whose members say the job on the slow-moving ships is tedious and dangerous.
Zoom out: The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the global oil supply usually passes during peacetime, has remained effectively closed because of the threat posed by Iran's mines and pirate-style attacks from its weaponized go-fast boats.
- The Chief and Pioneer, mine countermeasure Avenger-class vessels, are to be augmented in their mission by an operation involving helicopters, undersea drones, surveillance aircraft and destroyers.
- The vessels have about 84 total sailors aboard.
Driving the news: On Thursday, President Trump indicated on Truth Social that the vessels already were operating in the strait.
- "[O]ur mine 'sweepers' are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!" he wrote.
- Trump also posted that he ordered the U.S. Navy to "shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz."
- "There is to be no hesitation."
What they're saying: "A sailor assigned to Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Chief (MCM 14) was scratched by a monkey while in Phuket, Thailand," a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesperson told Axios.
- "The sailor received medical care and was transferred back to Japan for further care. There were no operational impacts or delays to Chief."
- Said one source briefed on the incident: "Normally, you worry that sailors ashore would be at risk of catching a disease from some other activity, not from a monkey."
Tours offer a variety of monkey-viewing experiences in Phuket, which is known for its large population of macaques.
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that macaques can carry the Herpes B virus, and those who are attacked should seek immediate care.
