US Navy’s oldest operational ship, USS Blue Ridge, arrives on its first port visit to Hong Kong in three years
- Captain Eric Anduze says the crew of about 1,000 men and women will be able to explore the city
- US Navy’s Seventh Fleet band will also hold several public concerts, including at the Maritime Museum, Ocean Park and Disneyland
The oldest operational ship in the US Navy, the USS Blue Ridge, arrived in Hong Kong on Saturday on its first visit to the city in three years.
Captain Eric Anduze, commander of the 48-year-old warship, said the crew of about 1,000 men and women would be able to explore the city while some sailors would visit a home for the elderly and one for disabled adults.
“We have sailed these waters for a long time. We have been to Hong Kong several times, we’re excited to be back after a three-year hiatus,” Anduze said on board the US Seventh Fleet’s command and control ship, which was moored at the China Merchants Wharf in Kennedy Town.
The Seventh Fleet band will also hold several public concerts, including at the Maritime Museum, Ocean Park and Disneyland. “We look forward to engaging with your community and experiencing the culture in the next couple of days,” Anduze said.
The 194-metre (636-foot) Blue Ridge, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan, started this mission in early February as part of its work to provide mobile command and control capability throughout the Indo-Pacific. It visited cities in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia before its port of call in Hong Kong.
The ship also sailed through the contested South China Sea during its trip, but Anduze stressed that it had done so in accordance with international law, amid Beijing’s objection to a US military presence in the disputed waters.