PORT KLANG, July 17 (Bernama) -- The USS Blue Ridge (LCC19), the flagship of the US 7th Fleet, docked at Port Klang here today for a routine port visit, demonstrating the continuation of over 65 years of economic, security and social interaction between Malaysia and the United States.
The vessel arrived at Port Klang Cruise Terminal at 9.30 am and was greeted by Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Inspector General Rear Admiral Abdullah Sani Ismail.
US Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Fred Kacher said the port visit provides the fleet with an opportunity to meet with the RMN, engage with the local community and enjoy Malaysia's sights and culture.
“Thank you to the people of Port Klang and Kuala Lumpur for their warm welcome of our Blue Ridge and the 7th Fleet teams,” he said during the media tour of the Seventh Fleet flagship today.
During their weekend long port visit, bilateral office call have been planned involving the RMN and Malaysian leaders with the 7th Fleet and the Blue Ridge leadership.
USS Blue Ridge Commanding Officer Captain Nicholas C. DeLeo said the discussion among other will focus on topics regarding maritime security to further strengthen the existing partnership.
“There's a couple of mutual interests that we have with Malaysia in terms of security, whether it's counterterrorism, maritime domain awareness, or regional stability.
“So those are the topics that we are looking to discuss and further our relationship on and I think through the dialogue over the coming days, that's exactly what we're attempting to achieve,” he said, adding that the 7th Fleets and USS Blue Ridge personnel will also engage in a handful of community programmes such as sporting events, schools and soup kitchen visits.
Commissioned in 1970, the USS Blue Ridge is the second oldest ship in the US Navy behind the wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate USS Constitution with approximately 1,000 crews onboard.
The vessel's primary role is to provide command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) support to the commander and staff of the 7th Fleet.
The ship is currently forward-deployed to US Navy Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, Japan, and is the third Navy ship named after the Blue Ridge Mountains, a range of mountains in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.
-- BERNAMA
