U.S. navy ship arrives at Sai Gon port
(11/19/2003 -- 22:07GMT+7)
HCM City (VNA) - A US navy ship, the USS Vandergrift (No. FFG 48), belonging to the Kitty Hawk aircraft-carrier group, docked in the Sai Gon port in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, beginning a visit to Viet Nam.
The ship comprises 186 crewmen and 15 officers with Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rogers as Commander. They laid a wreath at President Ho Chi Minh's monument in the centre of the city and were later feted by the leaders of the Vietnamese Navy Command and Military Zone 7.
Commander Richard Rogers, US Ambassador to Viet Nam Raymond F. Burghardt and Consul General Emilynn Yamauchi were received by the municipal Vice Mayor Nguyen Thien Nhan in the evening of the same day.
Vice Mayor Nhan welcomed the US ship's visit, describing it as a chance for Commander Rogers and his crewmen to see with their own eyes how the Vietnamese people build and develop their country. The visit will help US sailors understand that the increase of visits exchanges would make the two countries better understand and cooperate with each other in the interests of each nation.
Rogers expressed the US crewmen's joy at visiting the city as well as his thanks to the municipal administration for its warm reception.
The US sailors are scheduled to tour the city, call at an orphanage, welcome visitors to the ship, take part in a basketball match with the Navy Technology High School, and visit the Cu Chi tunnels over the next three days.
