USS Porter visits Latvia on Baltic Sea tour

US Navy destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) arrived in Riga, Latvia, on January 22 for a scheduled port visit.

Porter is one of two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers operating in the Baltic currently, under the close watch of Russian Navy corvettes.

“We would like to thank our Latvian hosts for the warm welcome and hospitality,” said Cmdr. Craig Trent, commanding officer of Porter. “It is truly an honor to contribute to the strengthening of US-Latvian relations and the crew looks forward to experiencing the Latvian culture.”

During the port visit in Riga, the ship is scheduled to host a luncheon for Latvian Navy sailors, take part in morale welfare and recreation tours and participate in a community relations project.

Porter, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is on its sixth patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations which started on December 31.