Photo from USS Bulkeley’s Facebook page

U.S. guided-missile destroyer Bulkeley (DDG 84) arrived on Saturday morning in Georgia’s Black Sea port of Batumi for a four-day port call.

The U.S. embassy in Tbilisi says the warship arrived for “a regularly scheduled port visit that will include combined training exercises with the Georgian Coast Guard.”

USS Bulkeley, which currently operates in in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility, and two Georgian coast guard cutters will participate in joint joint training exercises on August 11, according to the Georgian border police.

Joint training will also be held on August 13 before USS Bulkeley leaves the Georgian territorial waters, the border police, part of the Interior Ministry, said on Friday.

“This visit serves to continue U.S. 6th Fleet efforts to build global maritime partnerships with Black Sea nations and improve maritime safety and security, the U.S. embassy said on August 10.

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland and Defense Attache Colonel Matt Dimmick will visit the ship during its Batumi visit. 

The last time when U.S. warship made port call in Georgia was in October, 2011 when the U.S. guided-missile cruiser Philippine Sea arrived in Batumi; before that, two U.S. guided-missile cruisers, Anzio and Monterey, made separate port calls in Batumi in June, 2011.