The USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32), two Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) configured for mine countermeasures and previously based at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, were photographed docked at the North Butterworth Container Terminal in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia on March 15, 2026.
Commander Joe Hontz, spokesperson for Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), confirmed the ships’ presence in Malaysia. “The Tulsa and Santa Barbara are conducting brief logistical port calls in Malaysia,” Hontz said. “U.S. forces routinely make port calls in Malaysian ports as part of our operations, reflecting the close and enduring military cooperation between the United States and Malaysia.”
NAVCENT did not say how long the ships would remain in the country or whether replacement mine countermeasures assets have been sent to the region.
15 Mar – Two US Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) that were assigned to mine-countermeasure (MSM) missions in the Persian Gulf are currently docked at Butterworth in Malaysia.
Butterworth, Penang
15th March 2026
SC – sherwyndkessier https://t.co/FZN6qH1aSA pic.twitter.com/2kRnHiSeVk— Justine (@polietzz) March 15, 2026
AIS tracking data and military photographs show the Tulsa was still in Bahrain as recently as February 9, and the Santa Barbara was documented in the Persian Gulf on January 30.
Both ships left the Fifth Fleet area after CENTCOM announced on March 11 that U.S. forces had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of global oil exports pass.
U.S. forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/371unKYiJs
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 10, 2026
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a televised statement, read by an Iranian news anchor last week, that “the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.”
Each LCS carries a mine countermeasures (MCM) mission package consisting of a towed mine-hunting sonar, Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) configured for sweeping, and an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter with an airborne laser mine detection system.
Unlike the Avenger-class minesweepers they replaced in 2025, which could operate inside a minefield using non-magnetic hulls and low acoustic signatures, the LCS operates at standoff distance and deploys remote systems to engage threats.
The location of a third mine-warfare LCS, the USS Canberra (LCS-30), which was forward-deployed to the Fifth Fleet as of late January, has not been publicly disclosed.
President Trump on March 14 called on Japan, South Korea, France, and the United Kingdom to deploy warships to secure the strait, saying, “Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t.” Most have not committed.
