WASHINGTON, May 14. /TASS/. The US Coast Guard cutter Hamilton wrapped up its operations in the Black Sea and left it, the US 6th Fleet reported on Friday.
"Hamilton transited from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, concluding the crew’s recent Black Sea operations and engagements," the US 6th Fleet said in a statement.
The US Coast Guard ship Hamilton entered the Black Sea on April 27 "in support of NATO Allies and partners" in the region. Hamilton is the first US Coast Guard cutter to visit the Black Sea since 2008, the statement says.
While in the Black Sea, the Hamilton crew participated in the PASSEX joint exercise with Ukrainian Navy vessels. As the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s press office reported on May 11, the crews of naval ships and vessels practiced conducting tactical maneuvering, sending signals based on the international system, transmitting information on the maritime situation in the area of intensive shipping and providing air defense.
Russia’s National Defense Control System reported earlier that the Black Sea Fleet was tracking a US warship in the Black Sea.
The US Coast Guard is a military branch along with the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated that the presence of warships in the Black Sea that belong to states outside of the region does not contribute to stability there.