ODESA, JANUARY 31st, 2012, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE — Today, 31 January, US missile cruiser Vella Gulf has entered Odesa Port, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

The press service of Odesa Commercial Sea Port informed today, 31 January.

According to the press service, Vella Gulf moored OCSP pier 10 at noon. Ukrainian government authorized this visit of the ship to Odesa.

The Ministry of Defence reported, it is an unofficial visit to our city of the US military unit.

“The missile cruiser Vella Gulf has been located in the Black Sea water area from January 21. During this period she visited Constanta and Sevastopol. After the Black Sea trip, the ship will carry on combat duty in the US marine segment of the missile defence system in the Eastern Mediterranean”, said the press service with reference to online media.

INFORMATIOIN: USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) is an American Ticonderoga class Aegis guided missile cruiser. She is named for the Battle of Vella Gulf, a naval engagement in the Solomons campaign of World War II. This engagement was historically significant because it was the first time that destroyers were allowed to operate independent of the cruiser force during the Pacific campaign. The battle was fought between the islands of Vella Lavella and Kolombangara on the night of 6 August 1943. In the battle of Vella Gulf, six American destroyers – Dunlap, Craven, Maury, Lang, Sterrett, and Stack – engaged a group of four enemy destroyers attempting to reinforce Japanese troops on Kolombangara. The American warships closed the enemy undetected with the aid of radar and fired torpedoes which sank Hagikaze, Arashi, and Kawakaze with no damage to American ships.