Black Sea remains interesting

The USS Mount Whitney sails through the Bosporus waterway in Istanbul September 3, 2008.

On Wednesday, the U.S. command ship MOUNT WHITNEY, the flagship of the Sixth Fleet sailed into the Black Sea loaded with 17 tons of humanitarian supplies bound for Georgia.   Meanwhile the first U.S. ship to enter the area, the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul has departed the Black Sea.  Also, the civilian manned U.S. oceanographic ship USNS PATHFINDER docked at Sevastopol at the invitation of Ukraine on Thursday.  A press release from the Military Sealift Command (MSC) reports the PATHFINDER is assisting Ukraine in searching for a lost WWII hospital ship, the SS ARMENIA, and to survey and collect navigational data in the Black Sea.  Additionally, a NATO research vessel, the ALLIANCE, is also reported to be near the Bosporus and Dardanelles.

USNS Pathfinder passes through Dardanelles Strait, Turkey, September 2, 2008. AP Photo

All of this coincides with the arrival of the U.S. Vice President in Georgia and Ukraine this week criticizing Russia in its attack against Georgia and announcing $1 billion in aid funding for Georgia.

Russian leaders have noticed the activity in the Black Sea and are responding.  Putin has been quoted as saying “The reaction will be calm without any hysteria. But there will of course be a reaction.”  Russian officials have expressed their concern that the research vessels are being used to support the U.S. and NATO warships in the area by collecting intelligence.

NATO has asserted that any NATO ships in the Black Sea are not part of a build-up against Russia, but are conducting a routine and planned deployment.

There is no “NATO buildup” in the Black Sea, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said today. If the Russian Federation is looking for a pretext to take some unspecified steps, this is a poor one.

NATO Press Release.

Interesting links:

US warship leaves Sevastopol after protests

Confrontation in the Black Sea