The USS Blue Ridge, the U.S. Navy’s oldest active warship, arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, marking its first visit and strengthening U.S.-New Zealand naval and diplomatic relations.
The United States Navy has announced that the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge, flagship of the U.S. 7th Fleet, arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, on Friday. It marks the first time the vessel, the oldest deployed warship now in service with the U.S. Navy, has visited the New Zealand capital.
“This historic port visit by the USS Blue Ridge and our 7th Fleet team speaks to deep ties the United States and New Zealand share,” said Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. “Our partnership is rooted in our shared values and respect, and our visit here represents a significant opportunity for us to further strengthen the bond between our nations and our navies.”
The USS Blue Ridge’s port call is the first by a U.S. Navy warship to Wellington since the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Howard in 2021, while another guided-missile destroyer of the same class, USS Sampson, visited in 2016.
The last visit by a U.S. Navy fleet flagship to the New Zealand capital was nearly a century ago, when USS Seattle, a Tennessee-class armored cruiser, flagship of the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, made a port visit in August 1925 with then Admiral Robert E. Coontz onboard.
“We’re delighted to welcome the USS Blue Ridge and her crew to Aotearoa New Zealand,” added U.S. Chargé d’affaires David Gehrenbeck.
“The USCGC Midgett visited Wellington as recently as February, and, over the past several years, the USS Howard and the USS Sampson have also been to New Zealand. These visits underscore the first-class working relationship between our defense forces.”
The USS Blue Ridge: The Oldest Warship in the U.S. Navy
USS Blue Ridge, the flagship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, has been in service for nearly fifty-five years and completed her most recent dry dock maintenance in 2018. She is the oldest warship in active service with the U.S. Navy, as the USS Constitution remains the oldest commissioned warship in the world, but the frigate isn’t actively in service.
As Harrison Kass wrote for The National Interest last year, “The Blue Ridge was designed, in the middle of the Vietnam War, to give Navy and Marine Corps commanders the ability to command and control. The Blue Ridge is the only ship in the Navy inventory to be designed specifically as an amphibious command ship. The design was meant to address a deficiency of preceding designs, namely the lack of speed that prevented early amphibious command ships from keeping up with the rest of the twenty-knot amphibious force.”
However, just two amphibious command ships were completed, with the USS Mount Whitney being the other.
The USS Blue Ridge has been the command ship of the 7th Fleet since 1917, while the USS Mount Whitney was named command ship of the 2nd Fleet in 1981 but has been the 6th Fleet command ship since 2005.
The Blue Ridge class has been described as the “most capable” command ships produced for the U.S. Navy. Each is outfitted with extremely sophisticated Command and Control systems that can track land, sea, and air movements.
The USS Blue Ridge is just the third U.S. Navy vessel named Blue Ridge, following a Great Lakes passenger steamer converted to a troop transport during the First World War, and the Appalachian-class amphibious force flagship that saw service during the Second World War.
The USS Blue Ridge recently “participated in the 11th iteration of Exercise Croix du Sud in the Coral Sea near New Caledonia,” the U.S. Navy announced on May 1. The fourteen-day biennial joint exercise, which the French Armed Forces organized in New Caledonia (FANC), involved approximately 2,000 military personnel, more than a dozen aircraft, and five ships from eighteen countries.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/ Bill Chizek.
