Scandal hit USS Abraham Lincoln to finally dock next week after record days at sea

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln will dock in Thailand next week amid reports of mental health concerns and deteriorating conditions aboard.

The Lincoln, which left the Middle East on Saturday, has not made a ⁠port call in more than ​200 ⁠days, setting a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea, according to Democratic lawmakers.

Thai officials confirmed the news on Tuesday, following ⁠a prolonged deployment in the Middle East.

Typically naval deployments ⁠are for between six and nine months, but during ​times ⁠of conflict, that ‌can be extended.

Two military-focused outlets, Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, this ‌month reported suicide attempts and declining morale ​on the ship.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ‌has said the reports "completely ⁠misrepresented"the conditions on board. Thailand is the United ⁠States' only treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia, having been a ‌treaty ally since ​1954 and a major non-NATO ‌ally since 2003. Both ​countries' militaries maintain strong relations.

The ship, which has roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, will be in Thailand for "rest and ‌recreation after their long sea journey," ‌the official said, asking not to be named.

Spokespersons for the Thai Navy and the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok did not ⁠immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Lincoln left its home port of San Diego in November and was later redirected to the Middle East to support U.S. military operations in the war with Iran.

Over the weekend, the immigrant father of a U.S. sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln , which was deployed in the Middle East during the Iran war, was taken into federal immigration custody ‌and remains in detention.

U.S. ⁠Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, originally from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida, a spokesperson of the Department of Homeland Security, of which Border Patrol is a part, separately said on Sunday.

"I've been deployed ⁠for over nine months, out at ​sea ⁠in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country that has given me everything," Joshua Aviles, the ⁠son of the detained immigrant, said on Facebook.

"I just got a call ​that ⁠my dad was taken ‌by ICE," he said on Saturday, adding his father had his driver's license, social security card and work permit.

"We have done everything through immigration ‌to get his green card approved, and we ‌are just waiting. This is heartbreaking for me. I don't know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like ⁠a criminal," the Facebook post added.