The U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf moored yesterday at Pier Number 10 of Odessa Commercial Sea Port (OCSP), the port authorities said. The U.S. warship call is unofficial and was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government.
The USS Vella Gulf has been in the Black Sea from January 21 visiting ports of Constanta and Sevastopol.
USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), a premier TICONDEROGA class guided missile cruiser, was build by Litton/Ingalls Shipbuilding and commissioned on Sept. 18, 1993. Homeport: Norfolk, VA.
The ship’s general characteristics: length - 173 meters, beam - 16.8 meters, draft - 10.2 meters, displacement - approx. 9,600 tons, full load, speed - 30+ knots. Complement – approx. 350 (30 officers, 320 enlisted).
The USS Vella Gulf can carry two SH-60 SEAHAWK (LAMPS III) helicopters. The warship is armed with two MK 41 Vertical Launch Systems for STANDARD missiles, TOMAHAWK cruise missiles, Antisubmarine Rockets; MK 46 torpedoes, HARPOON missiles, two MK 45 5-inch/54 caliber guns, two Vulcan PHALANX Close-In Weapons Systems, chaff and NULKA decoy systems, and a variety of minor caliber weapons.