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NEWS | Sept. 15, 2020

USS Roosevelt en route to the Black Sea

By U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa / U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) began its northbound international strait transit en route to the Black Sea, Sept. 15, 2020, to conduct maritime security operations with NATO allies and partners in the region.

This is the sixth time a U.S. Navy ship has visited the Black Sea since the beginning of 2020. The last ship to visit the region was USS Porter (DDG 78) in July during exercise Sea Breeze 2020. Roosevelt will focus on enhancing regional maritime stability, combined readiness, and naval capability.

“Roosevelt has eagerly awaited the opportunity to sail the Black Sea alongside our NATO Allies and partners,” said Cmdr. Ryan R. Kendall, commanding officer of Roosevelt. “Roosevelt’s inaugural voyage proved to be a safe and scenic transit: an excellent beginning to a new chapter as U.S. 6th Fleet’s most recent addition to the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces.”

The ship’s operations in the Black Sea will strengthen interoperability with NATO allies and partners and demonstrate collective resolve to Black Sea security under Operation Atlantic Resolve.

Roosevelt, forward-deployed at Naval Station Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. The U.S. Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with international law, including the Montreux Convention.

Roosevelt is one of four U.S. Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and assigned to Commander, Task Force 65 in support of NATO’s Integrated Air Missile Defense architecture. These Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe ships have the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, demonstrating their mastery of the maritime domain.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.