2008 Press Releases
The USS MOUNT WHITNEY Visits Varna
For Immediate Release
November 13, 2008
The USS MOUNT WHITNEY – the largest ship the U.S. Navy has sailed into the Black Sea since the signing of the Montreux Convention* will visit Varna on November 17. This port call is the final stop of the second annual Black Sea Partnership Cruise. This exercise helps partner Navies develop NATO interoperability through transparent engagement and information sharing and encourages participation in Black Sea initiatives.
The ship serves as the Command Ship for the Sixth Fleet and has a complement of 150 enlisted personnel, 12 officers, and 150 civilian mariners. USS MOUNT WHITNEY was the first U.S. Navy combatant vessel to permanently accommodate women on board.
By the time of USS MOUNT WHITNEY’s arrival in Varna, representatives from the Navies of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Greece, and Ukraine will have spent a week aboard the ship. After last year’s successful inaugural Black Sea Partnership Cruise, the participating navies have increased their participants for this year’s cruise. This year, each nation’s Navy has volunteered to lead an instruction or training event on the cruise.
Journalists will be offered a guided tour of the ship from 10:30 AM till 11:30 AM on Monday, November 17. There will be a Q&A session afterwards.
Journalists who are interested in covering the event should call the U.S. Embassy Information Office at (02) 937-5306 or (02) 937-5173 or send e-mail messages at yordanovarn@state.gov by 3 PM on November 14, to provide their names and media affiliation.
Access on the ship will be granted as per a preliminary approved list. Accredited journalists should show up in front of the Bulgarian Navy Headquarters in Varna at 10AM on November 17.
For more information please call the U.S. Embassy Information Office at: 937-5173 or 0886-270-693.
For more information on the Montreux Convention please visit: http://www.ntip.navy.mil/montreux_convention.shtml