Two NATO Ships Leave Black Sea

September 12, 2014 12:09 PM
USS Ross (DDG 71) stands by during a nighttime passenger transfer during exercise Sea Breeze 2014 on Sept. 9, 2014. US Navy Photo
USS Ross (DDG 71) stands by during a nighttime passenger transfer during exercise Sea Breeze 2014 on Sept. 9, 2014. US Navy Photo

A U.S. guided missile destroyer and a French signals intelligence ship have left Black Sea, according to U.S. Navy officials and local press reports.

USS Ross (DDG -71) departed the Black Sea on Friday at the conclusion of the multinational Sea Breeze. The exercise concluded on Sept. 10.

The U.S. does not have a ship scheduled to cross the Bosporus Strait in the near future. Guided missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG-72), a frequent visitor to the Black Sea in the last several months is currently in the Atlantic.

French signals intelligence ship, Dupuy de Lôme (A759), also left the Black Sea on Sept. 5, according to photographs taken by local press in Turkey.

Sea Breeze included Spanish guided missile frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón (F-102), French frigate Commandant Birot (F796) and Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto (FFH-333).

Leading up to the exercise, Canadian officials accused Russia of aggressively buzzing the frigate with two Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer fighters and a surveillance plane. Russian officials questioned the Canadian account.

Dupuy de Lôme has cycled in and out of the region for months as part of an unspecified NATO presence mission following the seizure of the Crimea region of Ukraine by Russia in March.

All warship 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.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
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