US Navy destroyer USS Porter visits Bulgaria’s port of Varna
The US Navy destroyer USS Porter is visiting Bulgaria’s main Black Sea port Varna as the Bulgarian Navy celebrates its 140th anniversary.
The USS Porter is due to be docked in Varna from August 9 to 11. Bulgaria celebrates Navy Day on the second Sunday in August.
In a statement, the US Navy Sixth Fleet said that USS Porter, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, began its north-bound transit to the Black Sea on August 8 2019 “to enhance regional maritime stability and a show of support for our Nato allies and partners in the region”.
This is the sixth time a US Navy ship has visited the Black Sea since the beginning of 2019. The ship to visit the Black Sea most recently was USS Carney in July.
During its time in the Black Sea, USS Carney participated in exercise Sea Breeze 2019, a US-Ukraine co-hosted exercise that brought 19 nations, including Bulgaria, together for the 19th iteration of the exercise.
“The naval operations we conduct in the Black Sea with our allies and partners maintain the strong relationships that are necessary for regional stability,” Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti, commander US Sixth Fleet, said.
“The inherent flexibility of our forward-deployed naval force DDGs enables our ability to provide a credible defence and ensure we are postured appropriately to support our global operations.”
USS Porter, forward-deployed at Naval Station Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the US 6th Fleet area of operations in support of US national security interests in Europe, the Sixth Fleet said.
The US Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with international law, as well as with the Montreux Convention, the statement said.
