The “routine visit” comes two days after Nato announced its Eastern Sentry operation to reinforce its eastern border in response to Russian drone incursions.
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Sailors heave mooring line aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge DDG 96 in September 2022 (US Navy photo). Image: AOP
The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived in Helsinki for a port visit, the Finnish Navy announced on Sunday.
According to the Finnish Navy, the ship is in Helsinki on a routine visit, but it comes two days after Nato announced its Eastern Sentry operation to reinforce its eastern border “from the high north to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean”.
That followed extensive Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace on Wednesday. On Saturday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) confirmed to Yle that the operation covers Finland, which has the alliance’s longest border with Russia.
The USS Bainbridge docked at the Hernesaari quay on Sunday morning, according to the Port of Helsinki website.
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The USS Bainbridge is the former flagship of Standing Nato Maritime Group 1, which includes Finnish Navy vessels. Image: AOP
The USS Bainbridge is 155 meters long and 18 meters wide, and specialises in anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. It carries an AN/SPY-1 radar, which reportedly enables it to track more than 100 aerial targets at the same time. The ship has a crew of approximately 330 and is based in Norfolk, Virginia.
It is the former flagship of Standing Nato Maritime Group 1, which now includes Finnish Navy vessels such as the FNS Pori, which took part in its Baltic Sea operations this past summer.
The ship will not be open to the public during the visit. According to the Port of Helsinki, it will depart on Thursday.
2009 hostage rescue depicted in hit movie
The Bainbridge, commissioned in 2005, is best known for its role in the 2009 hijacking of a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia.
Somali pirates attempted to hijack a US cargo ship, taking the ship’s captain and crew hostage. The USS Bainbridge was part of the successful rescue operation.
In 2013, the story was made into the film Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, which earned six Oscar nominations.