USS Porter transits Bosphorus

[ExFreeper]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRxQqgXVi9E

U.S. Destroyer Enters Black Sea for First Time in 2016

USNI - By: Sam LaGrone, Jun 7, 2016

A U.S. guided missile destroyer has entered the Black Sea for the first time this year, according to the ship-spotting site Bosphorus Naval News.

USS Porter (DDG-78) is the first U.S. surface ship to cross the Bosphorus Strait this year as part of the ongoing Operational Atlantic Resolve. The operation stood up shortly after Russia seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and has been marked by a revolving cast of NATO ships conducting semi-regular presence operations and exercises in the region.

While the presence for the U.S. has been higher in the last year and a half than it has in decades, alliance leaders have complained NATO has not done enough to curtail Russian expansion.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said complained to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the alliance needed to do more in the Black Sea to prevent Russian dominance in the region.

“I told him ‘You are absent from the Black Sea’,” Erdogan said in an address to Balkan military leaders.
“The Black Sea has almost become a Russian lake, If we don’t act now, history will not forgive us.”

Russia is in the midst of a regional naval buildup that includes the construction of several surface ships and submarines that will be based in the Russian Navy base in Sevastopol, Crimea. Additionally, reports indicate Moscow has been moving anti-ship ballistic missiles into Crimea and its Baltic Sea exclave in Kaliningrad.

Porter is one of a quartet of ballistic missile defense (BMD) destroyers forward deployed to Naval Station Rota, Spain.

According to a statement from U.S. 6th Fleet, Porter, “will conduct port visits and bilateral exercises with partner navies. The ship’s operations in the Black Sea are meant to enhance maritime security and stability, readiness, and naval capability with our allies and partners.”

All warships from countries without a coast on the Black Sea operate under the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits.

Montreux rules call for foreign warships to depart the Black Sea after 21 days.

https://news.usni.org/2016/06/06/video-u-s-destroyer-enters-black-sea-first-time-2016

USS Porter (DDG-78) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. Porter is named after U.S. Navy officers Commodore David Porter, and his son, Admiral David Dixon Porter.

History
From January to July 2003, Porter engaged in combat and support operations of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Porter launched Tomahawk missiles during the Shock and Awe stage of the Iraq War.

Piracy
On 28 October 2007, Porter attacked and sank two pirate skiffs off Somalia after receiving a distress call from the tanker MV Golden Nori which was under attack from pirates.

Upgrade
On 12 November 2009, the Missile Defense Agency announced that Porter would be upgraded during fiscal year 2013 to RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Operation Nanook 2010
In August 2010, Porter and the United States Coast Guard buoy tender USCGC Alder participated in Operation Nanook 2010 in Baffin Bay and the Davis Straits. This was the fourth annual Operation Nanook organized by the Canadian Government, but it was the first to host foreign vessels.

2012 collision
On 12 August 2012, Porter collided with MV Otowasan, a Japanese oil tanker, near the Strait of Hormuz. The collision ripped a 3 by 3 metres (9.8 ft × 9.8 ft) hole in the starboard side of the destroyer, forcing it to Jebel Ali, Dubai for repairs. No one on either ship was injured. Initially Naval Forces Central Command did not provide details about the collision, saying that it was under investigation. Porter's captain, Commander Martin Arriola, was subsequently removed from command of the ship and replaced by Commander Dave Richardson. On 12 October 2012, Porter rejoined Carrier Strike Group Twelve for its transit through the Suez Canal following extensive repairs to the ship costing $700,000.

Naval Station Rota
On 30 April 2015 Porter arrived at Naval Station Rota, Spain. Naval Station Rota is Porter's new permanent homeport. Porter joins three other U.S. destroyers at Rota, these four ships are assigned to the United States Sixth Fleet, and will conduct ballistic missile defense patrols in the Mediterranean Ocean in support of Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet's mission.

Due to a Russian naval threat in the Mediterranean, Porter was upgraded with a SEARAM launcher for the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile replacing the aft CIWS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Porter_%28DDG-78%29