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The damage appears to much worse than initially thought, as a result of the USS Port Royal, an American cruiser, running aground on February 5th. The ship was returning to its base in Hawaii after the first day of sea trials. The ship slid into a shoal of sand and rock, which was actually construction debris from a nearby air port. The Port Royal had spent the last four months in a shipyard, getting a normal batch of upgrades and maintenance. The 9,600 ton ship has been in service for 15 years, and is the 27th, and last, Ticonderoga class...

USS Port Royal Gronding Thread from US Naval Institute

Navy officials say an attempt to pull free a 9,600-ton warship that ran aground off the coast of Honolulu has been unsuccessful.The U.S. Pacific Fleet says Navy tugboats and salvage ship USS Salvor tried to tow the USS Port Royal early Saturday but the guided missile cruiser remained stuck. The Navy says it plans to try again after extracting fuel and water from the $1 billion vessel. The 9,600-ton ship, while carrying guests that included a rear admiral, ran aground Thursday night on a sandy, rocky bottom. The cause of the grounding, as well the extent of the damage...

The $1 billion guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal, skippered by Capt. John Carroll, was returning to its homeport of Pearl Harbor when it ran aground just before 9 last night about one and one-half mile from the entrance to the Harbor.

Three U.S. Navy Ships Approached by Iranian Boats Story Number: NNS080107-05 Release Date: 1/7/2008 11:41:00 AM From Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs BAHRAIN (NNS) -- Following a routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Jan. 6, three U.S. Navy ships operating in international waters in the Persian Gulf were approached by five Iranian small boats that demonstrated irresponsible confrontational behavior near the U.S. ships. U.S. Navy ships USS Port Royal (CG 73), USS Hopper (DDG 70) and USS Ingraham (FFG 61) were steaming in formation at approximately 8 a.m. as they finished a routine...

Friends come and go, but shipmates are forever. Okay Freepers I know many of you have been reading and hearing details of the Iranians harassment of our warships entering the gulf. My shipmate/friend states that many of the crewmembers onboard are angry about how the story is being reported in the press and that family members have been emailing his boat to the point that email has been taken offline. Before going offline, my friend stated that the crews of all three ship responded as their training required and it was this training that proved superior to that of the...

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's Foreign Ministry said Monday that a confrontation between Iranian boats and U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf over the weekend was "something normal" and was resolved. It suggested the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels. The Pentagon said that in the incident early Sunday, five small Iranian boats repeatedly "charged" U.S. warships in the Gulf's Hormuz Strait and dropped boxes in the water. The boats warned the U.S. ships that they would set up "explosions," a U.S. Defense Department official said. The U.S. craft were on the verge of opening fire when the...

Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three US Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to blow up the American vessels, US officials said Monday. They described it as a serious provocation. US forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats turned and moved away, a Defense Department official said. "It is the most serious provocation of this sort that we've seen yet," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. White House spokesman Tony...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- In what U.S. officials called a serious provocation, Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels. U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats turned and moved away, a Pentagon official said. "It is the most serious provocation of this sort that we've seen yet," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said:...

CNN) -- The U.S. military reported Monday on a "significant" confrontation involving five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats that "harrassed and provoked" three U.S. naval ships in international waters over the weekend. U.S. military officials said the incident occurred Saturday night in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping channel leading in and out of the Persian Gulf. The five Iranian ships made "threatening" moves -- in one case coming within 200 yards of a U.S. ship, the U.S. officials said. n one radio transmission, the Iranians told the U.S. Navy: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2008 – Three U.S. Navy vessels took evasive actions after five Iranian boats buzzed the ships transiting the Straits of Hormuz yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Whitman called the Iranian provocation “a serious incident.” The fast Iranian boats approached at “distances and speed that showed reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent,” he said. The incident lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, he said. The Navy ships were going into the Persian Gulf when the Iranian boats confronted them. “Small, Iranian fast boats made some aggressive maneuvers against our vessels and indicated...

US Navy commanders were moments away from firing on Iranian attack ships during a skirmish in the Straits of Hormuz, it has emerged. Damien McElory: American armada prepares to take on IranA Pentagon spokesman revealed that five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy boats harrassed and provoked three US ships in the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf at the weekend.   The Persian Gulf is the scene of tensions between Iran and the US The Iranian craft came within 200 yards of the US vessels, which were sailing in international waters. The Iranian provocations included disregarding warnings...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2008 – The commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Middle East today called the behavior of Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats that buzzed three U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday “unduly provocative.”  Navy Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, who also commands U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, briefed Pentagon reporters via video teleconference from his headquarters in Manama, Bahrain. He said the USS Port Royal, USS Hopper, USS Ingraham were inbound to the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz yesterday morning. The ships were in the midst of a routine transit in...

Breaking News U.S. officials: 5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed, provoked 3 U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

A BLACK-CLAD figure amid a sea of brilliant white uniforms, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was given a hero's welcome aboard two US warships in Sydney Harbour yesterday. The crews of USS Port Royal and USS Ruben James greeted Dr Rice with cheers and whistles. She told the sailors they were owed a great debt of thanks by the American people, the President and all who desired freedom. "Because you are stalwart, because you have volunteered for this fight (in the global war on terror), we are going to win this great struggle," she said. "We are going...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2006 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal today during the ship's regularly scheduled port visit here. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks to the crew of the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal during a visit to the ship March 16. Port Royal was in Sydney for a regularly scheduled port visit. The secretary made brief but encouraging comments to the crew and visiting media on the ship's main deck before going below decks for a special lunch with the sailors. "This group of wonderful young men and women who represent...

Story Number: NNS040310-05 Release Date: 3/11/2004 3:00:00 PM By Fire Controlman 2nd Class Joseph W. Lovett, USS Port Royal, and Lt. Chris Davis, ESG 1 Public Affairs PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- USS Port Royal (CG 73) returned home to Pearl Harbor March 11 following a six-and-a-half month deployment with Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1. The 350 crew members assigned to Port Royal returned to “the Navy’s best homeport” following operations in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Port Royal deployed Sept. 2 with ESG 1, supporting a Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps-sanctioned...

Story Number: NNS040304-03 Release Date: 3/4/2004 10:10:00 AM From Expeditionary Strike Group 1 Public Affairs SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The seven ships attached to Expeditionary Strike Group One (ESG 1) are returning home this week following a six and a half month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. USS Greeneville (SSN 772) returned to its Pearl Harbor homeport Feb. 27. USS Port Royal (CG 73), also from Pearl Harbor, is scheduled to arrive home March 10. The remaining ships of ESG 1, USS Peleliu (LHA 5), USS Ogden (LPD 5), USS Decatur (DDG 73), USS Jarrett (FFG...

Story Number: NNS040304-09 Release Date: 3/4/2004 11:43:00 AM By Journalist 1st Class Jim Williams, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Gordon R. England visited with the Sailors and Marines of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1 aboard USS Peleliu (LHA 5) at Pearl Harbor Feb. 27. The stop aboard the ship was just one of many during a busy day in which he traveled around the harbor, visiting with Sailors and Marines and conducting meetings with local military leadership. "Hawaii is one of the most important places in the Pacific in...

US seizes 'al-Qaeda drug boat' The US navy has made a series of arrests on the region's seas The US navy has intercepted a boat carrying drugs near the Gulf in what it says is a suspected al-Qaeda drugs trafficking operation. Fifteen people on board the vessel were arrested and the navy said it had found hashish with a street value of $11m hidden in compartments on board. It is at least the third drug-smuggling boat to have been seized in two weeks in or near the Gulf. A number of arrested sailors are being questioned, the Pentagon said. US...