This is the seventh job that the employees of Viktor Lenac have completed for the US Navy and the Sixth Fleet since the beginning of this year, and probably a few more US military ships will sail into the shipyard by the end of the year. Along with the USS Arlington, the fast catamaran USNS Carson City is currently at Viktor Lenac, which arrived at the beginning of June for a regular annual overhaul, and should remain in the shipyard until the beginning of August.

Today, Mark Fleming, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy, Marko Filipović mayor of Rijeka, Dražen Vranić, mayor of the Kostrena Municipality, Robert Hranj, Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces with colleagues and other guests have visited the ship, hosted by the ship’s captain Eric Kellum. He emphasised the expertise of the workers of the Viktor Lenac Shipyard, and also the kindness and warm welcome of the people from Rijeka, Kostrena and the surrounding area. “In ten days of our stay here, we had an opportunity to rest and prepare for our further tasks. I would like to thank the City of Rijeka and the Municipality of Kostrena, we really feel comfortable here. “Croatia is one of our most important NATO partners in the Mediterranean,” said Captain Kellum.

Long-term successful cooperation with the US Navy, high-quality and timely interventions on their military ships, resulted in another step forward for the shipyard, which began with the implementation of the NAVSEA standard, launching Viktor Lenac among top European shipyards by this military standard implementation. The first interventions completed in accordance with the NAVSEA standard were on the USS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams, which underwent a regular overhaul at the beginning of this year.

Marko Filipović, mayor of Rijeka also highlighted the successful cooperation between the shipyard and the US Navy. “I am glad that we’ve had an opportunity to visit this American warship and see for ourselves the ability of the Viktor Lenac Shipyard to successfully and timely complete demanding tasks such as this one. The cooperation between the Navy and the shipyard has been going on for more than 10 years now, and I believe that it will continue successfully in the future. The arrival of such ships also has an impact on the economy of our city, since during their stay here, American soldiers, and there are 1,100 aboard this ship, have an opportunity to go ashore and, according to Captain Kellum, they like to explore and get to know Rijeka and its surroundings, pointed out Filipović.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Admiral Robert Hranj, emphasised high-quality bilateral relations between Croatia and the United States of America, as well as between the Croatian and American armed forces. “We in the armed forces of the Republic of Croatia look at the USA as the main strategic partner in the field of defense and security. We are grateful to have such a partner, and their support is visible, among other things, in the donation of military equipment as well as through joint training programmes for our and their soldiers”, said Admiral Hranj and added that the long-term cooperation with the Viktor Lenac Shipyard proves the confidence of the US Army in the ability and skills of shipyard workers.

The USS Arlington is named after Arlington, Virginia, the location of the Pentagon and the crash site of American Airlines Flight 77 during the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Like its sister ships, the USS New York and the USS Somerset, it is named in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks and in honour of the rescue teams, so the steel pulled from the Pentagon after the 11 September attacks was displayed on board, in the ship’s museum. The USS Arlington was built at Northrop Grumman’s Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The keel was laid in mid-2008, the launch followed in late 2010, while the USS Arlington was handed over two years later. The ship has been in service since 2013.