US Warships Enter Black Sea ahead of Olympic Games

US Warships Enter Black Sea ahead of Olympic Games
USS TAYLOR (FFG – 50 )

The US Navy warship, USS Mount Whitney sailed into the Black Sea today, the Voice of Russia reports.

 

USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet, will be joined by another US Navy ship, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, USS Taylor, later in the day, a spokesman for the Russian Navy HQ said.

USS Mount Whitney departed from Gaeta, Italy on Friday, January 31, and USS Taylor followed on Saturday, February 1. Both warships have an embarked H-60 helicopter onboard, according to the Foxnews.

The ship is currently sailing in the Black Sea, but she will not enter the Russian territorial waters, the spokesman added.

US officials earlier confirmed that the ships will head to the Black Sea in advance of the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.


SPECIFICATIONS
USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC-20) USS TAYLOR (FFG – 50)
Length 189 m Length 138 m
Beam 33 m Beam 14 m
Draft 9.06 m Draft 6.7 m
Displacement 18.400 tons full load Displacement 4.200 tons full load
Speed 23 knots Speed over 29 knots
Complement 170 officers and enlisted men;
and 155 Military Sealift Command civilian sailors
Complement 15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus
SH-60 LAMPS detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers
Status In active service Status In active service

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Naval Today Staff, February 5, 2014; Image: US Navy