US aircraft carrier visits Phl

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - A US aircraft carrier arrived here today for a routine port call, the US embassy said in a statement.

The US embassy said USS George Washington was one of the first American ships to respond to the request of the Philippines for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief after typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) struck the country.

Recently, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar of the Philippine Navy joined the George Washington Carrier Strike Group off the coast of the Philippines from Oct. 22 to 23 to conduct maneuvering, communications and gunnery exercises to further enhance their ability to work together.

Commissioned on July 4, 1992, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier George Washington is the fourth ship to bear the name and is forward deployed to the 7th Fleet area of operations, operating from Yokosuka, Japan. The ship is commanded by Capt. Greg Fenton and has a crew of 5,500 sailors.