For the first time in more than eight months, thousands of sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have been able to step off the aircraft carrier and onto dry land.

The US Navy ship arrived at Thailand’s Laem Chabang port on Wednesday, ending a record-breaking 264 consecutive days at sea without a port call.

By then, the Lincoln had been deployed for 286 days, much of it spent supporting US combat operations against Iran in the Middle East.

The relief was evident as crew members headed for nearby Pattaya for several days of shore leave.

“We’re very, very happy to be here,” the ship’s commanding officer, Captain Daniel Keeler, said.

“It is a well-deserved break for all of the crew.”

But as the crew finally got some respite, the condition of the 100,000-tonne aircraft carrier offered a striking visual indication of the toll of its long stint at sea.

Rust from bow to stern

Images of the Lincoln arriving in Thailand show large sections of its hull streaked with rust, in stark contrast to pictures of the ship earlier in its deployment.

The corrosion extends along much of the almost 335-metre carrier, which has spent months operating in salt water with little opportunity for maintenance normally carried out in port.

The USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand, showing significant rust. Photo: AAP

Despite its appearance, experts say the rust isn’t evidence the nuclear-powered carrier is falling apart.

Former US Navy captain Carl Schuster, who served three tours aboard Nimitz-class carriers, told CNN rust around the waterline was not unusual after a ship had spent 60 days or more continuously operating at sea.

He explained fixing it properly was difficult while the carrier is operating – and particularly while involved in combat.

Crew need to be lowered to the waterline to sand away the corrosion before applying rust-resistant primer and naval-grey paint.

Schuster estimated it could take about 30 days to completely deal with the rust, although some priority work could be done during the Thailand stop.

“It looks like what it is: A ship that’s been continuously at sea for 286 days,” Euan Graham, a defence expert at the Australian National Security College, told the Associated Press after seeing photographs of the carrier.

Graham said the Lincoln’s appearance could become a “tempting symbol” of the US Navy’s “strategic overstretch and fatigue”. However, he also highlighted the condition of its air wing as a possible sign of resilience under extreme stress.

Fixing the ship will require at least a month of work. Photo: AAP

Months without setting foot on land

The length of the deployment had also raised concerns about conditions for the thousands of sailors and Marines on board.

The Lincoln left San Diego in November last year and was eventually sent to the Middle East, where it became involved in US operations against Iran.

For most of its roughly 5000 sailors and Marines, there has been no opportunity to step off the ship this year.

Crew from the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group arrive at a hotel in Pattaya. Photo: AAP

“I haven’t stepped off the ship in the year 2026,” sailor Randall Stone told CNN in July.

Another crew member, Lieutenant Commander Joe Capstaff, told the broadcaster at the time that his daughter had been born in February.

He watched the birth over FaceTime but was yet to meet her.

As the deployment dragged on, reports also emerged of food shortages, plumbing and water problems and deteriorating morale.

CNN reported last month that at least one sailor had been rescued after going overboard during what the Navy described as a mental health episode.

The US Navy and Trump administration have disputed portrayals of conditions aboard the carrier, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying reports had been “completely misrepresented”.

Asked in August whether the deployment had gone on too long amid concerns about sailors’ mental health, US President Donald Trump replied: “No, no. Not nearly long enough.”

Pattaya City’s Mayor Poramet Ngampichet greets American service members. Photo: AAP

A chance to unwind

The Thailand stop has given the crew several days to relax for the first time this year.

Thousands of sailors and Marines headed to nearby Pattaya, where local businesses had been preparing for their arrival.

For some, the break also brought long-awaited reunions.

Shakeira Fairfax travelled from New Jersey to Thailand to meet her daughter, who serves aboard the Lincoln.

“There was a time where the morale was at low, and I said, what can I do?” Fairfax told CNN.

Her daughter asked her simply to tell her old stories from home.

“I just can’t wait to see her smile,” Fairfax said ahead of their reunion.

Still a long way from home

The Thailand stop may have ended the crew’s extraordinary run without shore leave, but their deployment isn’t over yet.

The Lincoln is expected to continue towards its home port of San Diego after leaving Thailand, although the Navy has not announced a firm date for its return.

Keeler said the carrier would be home “soon”, with further stops for supplies possible along the way.

By the time it arrives back in San Diego, the Lincoln is expected to have completed the second-longest US aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam War.