American ships in Tri-City ports
The US ships USS Guston Hall and USS Kearsarge are docked in Tricity ports. “The Americans want to show their strength on the Baltic Sea,” assessed kmdr Lt. res. Maksymilian Dura in an interview with PAP.
On Wednesday morning, the landing ship USS Kearsarge entered the Gdynia harbour. The vessel moored at the French Quay. The ship will remain in Gdynia until next Monday. During this time, the vessel is expected to replenish supplies and provide rest for the crew.
The Wasp-class landing ship USS Kearsarge is the flagship of the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit. The ship is 257 metres long and 60 metres wide and can travel at 22 knots (41 km/h). It is armed with the Wasp-class standard armament of a multi-role amphibious assault ship. The ship’s crew numbers more than 2,000, but up to 1,500 members are on board at any one time.
The USS Kearsarge ship on Wednesday replaced at the French Quay in Gdynia the USS Guston Hall ship, which sailed into the Gdansk harbour on Tuesday and moored at the Free Customs Area (WOC) in New Port.
The landing-dock ship USS Gunston Hall is a vessel that entered service in 1989. The crew consists of 413 sailors including 21 officers. The ship can accommodate 402 Marines on board, with a dock located in the hull for landing craft or hovercraft. At the stern of the ship is a deck for helicopters.
As the military affairs portal www.defence24.pl pointed out, both ships house naval infantry troops who are constantly training, exercising their physical fitness and in a state of adequate readiness for possible action.
The publicist of the portal www.defence24.pl kmdr Lt. Res. Maksymilian Dura said in an interview with PAP that the actions of the Americans should be treated as a show of force.
– The Americans want to show their strength in the Baltic. They are beginning to treat the Baltic as their territory,” he stressed.
He added that vessels such as the USS Kearsarge had never sailed in the Baltic Sea before. In his opinion, the vessel would never enter Gdynia during a conflict.
– The Kaliningrad region is infested with missiles and it would be a shame for the Americans to lose such a vessel, he explained.
In his opinion, in the event of a conflict with Russia, the USS Kearsarge could dock in the port of Świnoujście.
American ships have already called at Polish ports several times this year. In May and June, the destroyer USS Gravely was in Gdynia, and in June the USNS Patuxent tanker arrived in Gdansk. In July, on the other hand, the USNS Leroy Grumman tanker first docked in Gdansk, then in Gdynia.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
