Commander Birot in the Black Sea
(B2) The high seas patrol vessel 'Commandant Birot' will call at the port of Constanţa in Romania, from 13 to 17 May. A deployment in the Black Sea as part of the presence missions of the French Navy. Objective: to show France's solidarity with its Allies and preserve freedom of navigation in a disputed area and subject to tension between Ukraine and Russia. A combined deployment with other Atlantic Alliance ships.
A US Coast Guard vessel also in the area
The U.S. Coast Guard vessel Cutter Hamilton (WMSL 753) conducted a series of operational exercises May 9 with a Ukrainian navy vessel, the Island-class patrol vessel Starobilsk (P-241), in the Black Sea . A way for the United States to show its solidarity with Ukraine, without being caught in the act of escalation. Even if this ship remains under the flag of a civil force, the objective remains the same: increase interoperability as part of a regional effort to strengthen maritime partnerships with NATO partners “as a press release from theUS Navy.
Le Hamilton, which belongs to the Legend class, is moreover one of the most modern equipment of the US Coast Guard and has nothing to envy to a light frigate of a military navy. Nearly 130 meters long, the ship weighs nearly 4500 tons, is armed (57 mm Bofors and anti-missile guns, 12,7 mm heavy machine guns) and can accommodate HH-65 Dolphin type helicopters (Airbus) or Eagle Eye drones.
It is the first American coast guard to sail on the Black Sea for 13 years. The last voyage of a US Coast Guard vessel, USCGC Dallas (WHEC 716), was in 2008.
(NGV)
