The United States Navy is positioning its oldest active-duty nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the Caribbean as the Pentagon works to counter China’s maritime and infrastructure investments in Latin America. The USS Nimitz is scheduled to arrive in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday for a five-day visit, marking the final foreign port call of the vessel’s nearly 52-year operational history.
The supercarrier will remain anchored in the capital to allow local government officials, members of the Jamaica Defense Force, and university students to board the ship and observe flight operations. U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Scott Renner called the visit an “important milestone,” noting the operation aims to build people-to-people connections and maintain regional security during the scheduled June 1 to June 5 dates.
The Jamaica stop concludes the Southern Seas 2026 deployment, an initiative the U.S. 4th Fleet launched to increase military interoperability across the Western Hemisphere. The carrier group departed Naval Base Kitsap in Washington in March, escorted by the guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley. During the transit around South America to its new home port in Virginia, the Nimitz operated in Panamanian waters for the first time in more than 50 years.
The Department of Defense previously adjusted the ship’s retirement timeline to avoid gaps in fleet availability. The Navy officially extended the service life of the USS Nimitz out to March 2027 to maintain strategic readiness. This extension aligns the vessel’s decommissioning with the commissioning of its Gerald R. Ford-class replacement, the USS John F. Kennedy.