The government has given the green light to the US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln (USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-7) to sail into the Split port. The monster ship, which carries ninety fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, will stay in Split from May 8 to 11, mainly so the crew can have a few days of rest, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on May 2, 2019.
The approval for the arrival of the United States Navy ship – or part of their fleet located in the Mediterranean – was requested by the US Embassy in Zagreb from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Government’s decision is in accordance with the provisions of the Maritime Code.
Known better by the nickname “Abe” in the US Navy, the USS Abraham Lincoln will sail more than five thousand sailors, pilots and other personnel to Split.
This is, in fact, the third US carrier that will be anchored in Split since Croatia’s independence.
In December 2015, USS Harry S. Truman, an American ship the size of three football pitches, sailed the Brač channel carrying a load of 85 aircraft and 20 helicopters. Like the “Abraham Lincoln,” the “Truman” is a navy ship in the Nimitz class, which has carried some of the world’s largest aircraft.
The USS Enterprise visited Split in 2006, and on that occasion, the retired HV Lieutenant Colonel Srećko Herceg was awarded the American Medal of Honor. Herceg is the descendant of Petar Herceg Tomich, a US sailor who was killed on the US Navy ship USS Utah during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Split was also visited by American ships in the former Yugoslavia, precisely the USS Saratoga in April 1976 and the USS America in May 1979.
One thing we know for certain – plan accordingly from May 8 to 11, as this extra 5,000 people in Split makes up just a small part of the crowds we are already witnessing!
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