Singapore is first overseas visit ever for amphibious transport dock USS Somerset

U.S. Navy’s amphibious transport dock USS Somerset (LPD 25) arrived in Singapore for a scheduled port visit on November 13.

Somerset departed Naval Station San Diego for its maiden deployment October 14, and this will be the first overseas port visit in the ship’s history.

The ship was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in March 2014 as the ninth vessel in the San Antonio-class of amphibious transport ships.

During the port visit, sailors and marines aboard the ship will experience Singaporean culture and conduct professional military exchanges with members of the Republic of Singapore Navy.

said port visits and liberty give the crew and embarked Marines a valuable opportunity to gain appreciation for Singapore’s culture.

“The Somerset team is honored to visit Singapore,” said Capt. Darren Glaser, Somerset’s commanding officer. “Both personally and professionally, it provides opportunities to strengthen ties, while allowing the crew to gain an understanding and appreciation of the local culture.”

For many sailors and marines aboard Somerset, this will be their first opportunity to experience a foreign port. Seaman Zared Norton from Canton, Texas, is looking forward to the sights and sounds of Singapore.

“It’s my first time ever being out of the country, and I’m excited to see a different culture,” said Norton.

Somerset, part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations with the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The 7th Fleet area of operations includes more than 48 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, running from the international dateline to the eastern coast of Africa, and from the Antarctic to the Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan.