The flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, the staff ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), has entered the Black Sea.

It will join a group of American ships consisting of the missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG78), which entered Black Sea waters on 30 October, and the supply vessel USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189), which arrived in the region on the evening of 3 November.

The Sixth Fleet Command said as early as 29 October that Mount Whitney would "work with allies and partners in the region," but the ship made a stopover in Istanbul from 1 to 4 November.

The flagship has called into Black Sea waters more than once, and in 2018 it twice stood in the port of Odessa while taking part in the international exercise Sea Breeze 2018.