Four U.S. Navy vessels, long counted on to suss out mines planted in Middle East waters, were bound for Philadelphia last week following their recent decommissioning — even as the U.S. war with Iran shows no signs of abating.

A U.S. Navy official confirmed that the Avenger-class ships — the USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator, and USS Sentry — were en route to Philly last week, where they would “continue onwards in the inactivation process.”

The timing of the ships’ Philadelphia arrival is concurrent with the escalation of the war in Iran, in which the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil flows — has become a focal point.

The New York Times, citing U.S. officials, reported last week that Iran had begun using smaller boats to mine the waters of the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to stall travel through the waterway. CNN has reported that Iran boasted the capability to lay “hundreds” of mines in the Strait.

Replacing the ships

For decades, the U.S. had relied on the four recently decommissioned ships to locate such devices.

In a September 2025 news release announcing the decommissioning of the vessels, the Navy said the ships had for years been a vital form of defense, using “sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that could be released and detonated by remote control,” according to the Navy.

They were also capable of conventional mine sweeping measures.

“For more than three decades, USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator and USS Sentry have been critical to maritime missions around the globe,” U.S. Navy Vice Adm. George Wikoff said in a statement last September.

Today, just four of the mine countermeasures ships — or MCMs — remain in use. All are stationed in Sasebo, Japan.

According to last year’s release, the four decommissioned ships were slated to be replaced by four littoral combat ships — or LCSs.

“The Navy’s current primary surface platform for executing counter-mine warfare operations is the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) equipped with the mine countermeasures mission package,” a Navy official said in an email.

“The MCM mission package is a sophisticated suite of manned and unmanned systems designed to locate, identify, and neutralize seamines, at a safer distance from minefields than the Avenger-class MCMs,” the Navy official wrote.

Last week, however, the Independent reported that the LCS program has been beset by issues, including budgetary overruns and concerns over the vessels’ ability to perform in combat situations.

What’s more, it’s unclear how many of the newer vessels have been deployed to the Middle East to replace those taken out of commission.

The Navy said last year that the USS Canberra had arrived in Bahrain in May, but a Navy official last week declined to say whether the other three LCS vessels had arrived in the Middle East — referring a reporter to the public affairs office for U.S. Central Command.

An email sent to that office’s media relations office Monday referred a reporter back to the Navy’s press office, which did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.

Next steps in the war

The U.S. Central Command said in a social media post March 10 that U.S. forces had eliminated 16 Iranian minelaying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.

In recent days, President Donald Trump has made a number of public statements about the Strait, in which he has downplayed threats even as he issued a scathing warning.

“If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote last week on Truth Social.

“If ... they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!” he added. “Additionally, we are using the same Technology and Missile capabilities deployed against Drug Traffickers to permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait. They will be dealt with quickly and violently. BEWARE!”

©2026 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.