Nigerian US Navy sailor falls off warship in Red Sea

Oriola Aregbesola, a 34-year-old United States (US) Navy Sailor, who renounced Nigeria, has passed away after falling overboard in the Red Sea.

In a statement addressed to members of the public, the US Navy stated that Aregbesola was reported lost overboard from the USS Mason (DDG 87) while the vessel was operating in the Red Sea on March 20th.

The statement read, “Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Oriola Michael Aregbesola, assigned to the “Swamp Foxes” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, was deployed with a detachment aboard Mason, which has been operating in the U.S. 5th Fleet since November.

“His outstanding performance prior to and during deployment went well beyond aircraft maintenance; he truly saw and valued every member of the ship/air team.

“He will continue on in the hearts of every Swamp Fox and our brothers and sisters in the IKE Carrier Strike Group. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with his family.

“Mason and HSM-74 are part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and currently deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.”

Reacting to the incident, HSM-74 commanding officer, Eric Kohut said Aregbesola joined the Navy in July 2020 and reported to HSM-74 in December 2020.

The squadron was deployed to the USS Mason, which has been stationed in the US 5th Fleet in the Red Sea since last year’s November.

The Pentagon announced in December that the US had joined a 10-nation military pact, including the United Kingdom (UK), Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain, to counter terror threats in the Red Sea. This move was prompted by drone and missile strikes on commercial vessels.

The attacks, attributed to the Houthi group in Yemen, were reportedly in response to the Hamas-Israel conflict. The Houthis have declared their support for Palestinians and vowed to continue attacks until Israel halts its offensive in Gaza.