2 Marine amphibious vehicles involved in Camp Pendleton training accident; no injuries reported

Two Marine amphibious troop carriers were involved in a training accident on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Tuesday morning, the Marines said in a statement.

One Amphibious Combat Vehicle, or ACV, rolled onto its side in the surf and another became disabled, the statement said. Marines in both vehicles immediately evacuated and made it safely to shore. No one was injured, the statement said.

The service is still attempting to recover the vehicle that rolled over. The other was towed to shore.

The incident is under investigation.

A video published Wednesday by USNI News shows the ACVs struggling in high surf just off a Camp Pendleton beach. At one point, a wave crashes over the top of one. Marines are seen leaping from the vehicle and another appears overturned in the surf.

A Marine spokesperson from the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division did not immediately reply to questions about how many Marines were on board the vehicles or whether the vehicles are attached to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is currently training for deployment.

Marine officials have previously said ACVs will deploy for the first time with the 13th MEU this year. The unit has been training off the San Diego coast this month ahead of that deployment, Pentagon photos show.

Marine ACVs are the service’s replacement for its beleaguered Vietnam War-era Assault Amphibious Vehicles, one of which sank off the San Diego coast in 2020, killing eight Marines and a sailor. AAVs were pulled from waterborne operations last year.

ACVs are larger and heavier than the AAVs they’re replacing and ride on eight wheels instead of the tracks used on AAVs. ACVs are also faster in the water and are equipped with modern computers and communications.