Command ship of U.S. 7th Fleet visits Philippines

At the invitation of the Philippine Navy, USS Blue Ridge, command ship of the United States Seventh Fleet, arrived at Manila on Wednesday morning, kicking off a four- day goodwill visit to the country.

The warship was greeted by Philippine Navy officials and Philippine Navy band's live performance.

"The goodwill visit paves the way for strengthening ties for both countries and to reiterate the commitment in combating terrorism which requires a concerted effort among nations who aspire for peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region", the Philippine Navy said in a statement.

According to the schedule, before the departure of USS Blue Ridge on Saturday, officers and personnel of both navies will participate in various activities, such as humanitarian projects in Metro Manila and sports events.

Built in 1967, USS Blue Ridge has a length of about 194 meters, a beam (width) of about 33 meters and a draft (height) of some 8 meters. It has two boilers, one geared turbine, and is able to steer at a maximum speed of 23 nautical miles per hour. The warship has accommodations for over 250 officers, 1,200 enlisted men and 100 enlisted females.

According to the U.S. Navy, USS Blue Ridge uses its main battery of computers, communications equipment and other electronic facilities to fulfill its mission as command ship for the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Its Global Command and Control System consists of numerous high-powered computers distributed throughout the ship from which information and data from world-wide sources are entered into a central database.

The single, integrated database concentrates the available information into a complete tactical picture of air, surface and subsurface contacts, enabling the fleet commander to quickly assess and concentrate on any situation which might arise. The clean topside area is the result of careful design intended to keep the ship's interference with its own communications systems at a minimum.

Source: Xinhua