Navy SEAL drowning deaths interceding Iranian weapons were preventable, investigations finds

Two Navy SEALs drowned as they attempted to climb aboard a vessel in the Arabian Sea in January, and a new investigation found their deaths were preventable.

Special Warfare Officer 1st Class Christopher Chambers, 37, slipped trying to board the dhow believed to be carrying Iranian weapons for the Yemen-based Houthis . Seeing him struggle to stay afloat, Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram jumped in to rescue him. Both were lost to the sea in just 47 seconds after Chambers slipped.

The Naval Special Warfare Command findings come about nine months after the two highly trained elite military operators drowned on Jan. 11, 2024, and their bodies were lost despite extensive recovery efforts.

The Navy SEALs pulled up along the smuggling boat and used a tactical ladder to climb aboard the other vessel. Some Navy SEALs ignored the ladder and climbed directly over the dhow’s railing. They were weighed down by the heavy equipment they were carrying, and there was a failure in accounting for that extra weight, according to investigators.

Chambers made the jump to grab the railing, not the ladder, but with the weight of his gear pulling on him, he lost his grip and plunged into the water. Ingram, seeing his teammate struggling, jumped in the water but was faced with the same problem. He appeared to deploy a special flotation device from his kit, but for unknown reasons, it was found intact drifting in the water.

"Observing his teammate struggling, [Ingram] jumped into the water to render assistance," the report said. "Encumbered by the weight of each individual's gear, neither their physical [capability] nor emergency flotation devices, if activated, were sufficient to keep them at the surface."

The investigators found the Navy SEALs failed to recognize the risks to their own buoyancy, a failure to complete a bounce test once deployed, an insufficient amount of training with the Tactical Flotation Support System, the maintenance of which did not meet naval standards, and conflicting guidance and lack of implementation of buoyancy requirements.

Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said the incident was “marked by systemic issues.”

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and teammates of Chief Special Warfare Operator Christopher J. Chambers and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Nathan Gage Ingram," U.S. Navy Commander Timothy Hawkins said . "Chambers and Ingram were part of a team that interdicted an illegal shipment of Iranian-supplied ballistic-missile and cruise-missile components, preventing them from reaching Yemen. During this operation, the Navy lost two noble warriors at sea. We mourn their loss, and we remember them as heroes who died defending our nation."

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CENTCOM said at the time that the Navy SEALs intercepted Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components, including propulsion, guidance, and warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.

The Ingram family thanked the Naval Special Warfare Command team for its "efforts and diligence" throughout the investigation, according to ABC News : “We remain immeasurably proud of his heroic sacrifice in service of this Country. We carry him in our hearts each day, remembering always his devotion to his Country, his brothers, and his family.”