UK Destroyer Makes Port Call in Batumi

UK warship HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air-defense destroyer, arrived on a four-day port call in Batumi on Georgia’s Black Sea coast on October 15.

Captain Ramaz Papidze, acting Batumi Mayor Archil Chikovani, as well as, UK Defense Attaché in Georgia, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Brumwell welcomed the Portsmouth-based destroyer’s first visit to Georgia’s territorial waters, according to the Georgian Interior Ministry.

Interior Ministry said that during the UK destroyer’s visit, Georgian Coast Guard officers will undergo NATO SEL-2 certificate program evaluations on board.

The destroyer’s Batumi visit demonstrates the United Kingdom’s “commitment to the region and helping to improve freedom of access and action throughout the Black Sea,” said Commander Giles Palin, Dragon’s Commanding Officer.

“Delighted to welcome HMS Dragon to the port of Batumi, representing yet another vivid proof of the successful bilateral cooperation between Georgia and the UK in the fields of the security and defense and serving for maintaining secure environment across the Black Sea region,” Georgian Foreign Ministry stated.

Prior to Batumi, the HMS Dragon also made a port visit in Odessa, Ukraine, where it stayed for a week aimed at forging closer ties with Ukrainian Navy.

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