Nuclear Carrier USS Nimitz Reaches Panama as Southern Seas 2026 Kicks Off

The USS Nimitz Panama arrival on Saturday marks the first time a US aircraft carrier has entered Panamanian waters in more than half a century — and likely one of the last deployments for the 51-year-old warship before it begins decommissioning. The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that the nuclear-powered carrier anchored in open water off Panama’s Pacific coast while the accompanying destroyer USS Gridley docked at the Amador Cruise Port in Panama City, where Panamanian Vice Ministers of Public Security and Foreign Affairs boarded the vessel for briefings.

The carrier strike group — part of the Southern Seas 2026 exercise, the 11th such deployment since 2007 — departed Bremerton, Washington, on March 7 and will remain in Panamanian waters until April 2. The fleet will then continue to Peru, Chile, and Brazil before transiting the Strait of Magellan and arriving at Naval Station Norfolk on the US East Coast around June 20.

The USS Nimitz Panama Mission

At 332 meters long and displacing 87,900 tons, the Nimitz is too large to transit the Panama Canal — even the expanded Neopanamax locks cannot accommodate a supercarrier. The ship will instead circumnavigate the continent, covering an estimated 12,400 nautical miles. Joint exercises are planned with the navies of ten Latin American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Uruguay.

Commissioned in 1975, the Nimitz has participated in every major US military operation of the past five decades — from the Gulf of Sidra and Lebanon through the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, and most recently the Indo-Pacific, where its previous deployment logged over 82,000 nautical miles and 8,500 flight sorties. The Navy originally planned to decommission the carrier this year but extended its service until 2027 to maintain the congressionally mandated minimum of 11 operational carriers while the USS John F. Kennedy, the second Gerald Ford-class carrier, completes sea trials.

The Geopolitical Context

The deployment arrives at a moment of heightened US engagement — and friction — across the hemisphere. Washington’s effective oil blockade on Cuba and the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro in January have reshaped regional dynamics, while the Shield of the Americas summit convened a dozen Latin American leaders around security cooperation.

The Nimitz’s presence in Panama also carries symbolic weight given Trump administration rhetoric about the Panama Canal. While the carrier physically cannot transit the waterway, parking the world’s most powerful warship in Panamanian waters for five days sends a message that extends well beyond the exercise’s stated objectives of interoperability and maritime cooperation.

For the Nimitz and its crew of several thousand sailors, the Latin American circuit represents a farewell tour for a ship that has served longer than any carrier in US history. For the region, it is a reminder that even as the Iran war strains American naval assets globally, Washington intends to maintain a visible military presence in its own hemisphere.