By Ensign Joe Keiley
HSV Swift Public Affairs  Print     Share  

HIGH SPEED VESSEL SWIFT, At Sea, 

Jun 7, 2012 — The High-Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) departed Durban, South Africa, concluding a two-week theater security cooperation visit to the area, June 7, 2012.

Durban is the 3rd and final stop Swift has made to South Africa in support of its mission, which began in Simon's Town and continued to East London.

"This marks the last of Swift's planned visits to South Africa this year," said Lieutenant Commander Charles Eaton, officer in charge of Swift. "I'm happy to say we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our time here, and we feel lucky to have the opportunity to see so much of the country and to meet and work so closely with the people here."

Over the course of three port visits several hundred people visited Swift for tours, giving the crew a chance to highlight the unique capabilities of the ship and civilian-military partnership. Sailors met with their counterparts in the South African Navy, conducted office calls and toured South African vessels, events that all built bonds that look to strengthen future visits.

"This crew of civilians, sailors and Marines on board are ambassadors for the United States during their visit," said Virginia Palmer, charge d'affaires, U.S. Consulate South Africa. "Now they will be ambassadors for South Africa, to talk about the hospitality they enjoyed here and the warmth of Port Durban."

Swift will continue to visit ports in Africa as it begins support of Africa Partnership Station in Mozambique. APS focuses on building cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services in order to achieve common international goals, primarily stability and security.

"There were plenty of once in a lifetime things to do here, we got to go on a shark dive, saw penguins and went on a safari," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Danielle Leal. "The people were really nice, I almost don't want to leave."

Swift, a U.S. Military Sealift Command-chartered high-speed vessel, is currently deployed off the coast of Africa in support of theater security cooperation efforts.