US Warship Arrives in Port Louis, Mauritius

USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) arrived in Port Louis, Mauritius, for an 8-day goodwill port visit as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) East’s hub, Sept. 5.

APS is an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by Commander, US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa.

The visit will feature on board classroom training in critical shipboard areas of damage control, fire fighting, search and rescue planning and electrical maintenance. There will also be a community service project at a children’s school and a soccer match with the Mauritius coast guard.

Cmdr. Angel Cruz, commanding officer of Samuel B. Roberts, said he and his crew are looking forward to their time in Mauritius.

“Sammy B. is really excited to arrive in Mauritius for classroom training with the coast guard and police here,” said Cruz. “The training will culminate with an underway exercise where we’ll put all our knowledge into practice. This is our primary mission. Secondly, the Sailors are excited to step out and enjoy the island of Mauritius.”

The visit to Mauritius marks Roberts´ fifth East African port visit in the past seven weeks. The other stops were in Mombasa, Kenya; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Victoria, Seychelles; and Maputo, Mozambique.

“The goal is for us to share knowledge with our East African partners and to learn from each other about maritime education and training, in order to effectively patrol our coastal waters and contribute toward maritime security in the region,” said Cruz.

Prior to its arrival in Mauritius, Roberts was underway supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.

Samuel B. Roberts is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate that is homeported in Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and is currently on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.

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Source: navy, September 7, 2011;