The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, scheduled to pull into Pearl Harbor this morning for a stopover after a seven-month deployment, instead will arrive this evening, after an apparent miscalculation over tide levels.

"(The Lincoln) will arrive in Pearl Harbor today during the evening tide," the carrier strike group's public affairs office said in a release. "Due to the depth of the water in Pearl Harbor, an aircraft carrier needs to come in during high tide. The first available high tide will be around 5 p.m."

The Navy faxed the release this morning at 5:30 a.m. after yesterday inviting the media to cover the carrier's previously expected arrival sometime after 8 a.m.

The Lincoln, with Air Wing 2 and its strike group escort ships, deployed to the Persian Gulf region and western Pacific for security and combat operations.

The air wing flew more than 7,100 sorties and completed more than 22,000 flying hours in support of coalition forces.

The Lincoln has about 5,000 crew and air wing personnel.

The Pearl Harbor-based guided missile destroyer Russell, which was part of the Lincoln strike group, is expected to return home tomorrow.

The Russell left Pearl Harbor on March 24 to join the strike group. On June 8, Russell responded to a vessel in distress between Bossasso, Somalia and the Yemeni coast in the Gulf of Aden, the Navy said.

The Russell's crew assisted the 45-foot small boat, which had serious engine problems, and had been adrift for two days.

The Navy said there were about 70 people on board, some of whom needed immediate medical help. Seven were transferred to the Russell and treated for severe dehydration and malnutrition.

Other ships that are part of the Lincoln strike group include the cruiser Mobile Bay, frigate Curts, and the destroyers Momsen and Shoup.

From here, the strike group will depart for San Diego before the Lincoln returns to its homeport of Everett, Wash.