Cutter Dallas takes supplies to Georgia

The Post and Courier

Amid growing tension between Russia and the West, the Charleston-based Coast Guard cutter Dallas on Wednesday delivered 34 tons of humanitarian aid to the Black Sea port of Batumi, Georgia.

In response, Russia sent three missile boats to another Georgian port. The Dallas is south of the zone of the fighting between Russia and Georgia. The arrival avoided Georgia's main cargo port of Poti, still controlled by Russian soldiers, The Associated Press reported.

The delivered goods included hygiene items, food, milk and juices. They were loaded at a U.S. Navy facility in Crete.

The Dallas left Charleston in late May to support Navy exercises off the west African coast, said Lt. Rob Wyman of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Public Affairs Office.

"The crew of the Dallas really wants these goods to make a difference in the lives of the Georgian people," said Capt. Robert Wagner, Dallas' commander. "When we received the order to deliver these supplies, the men and women of this ship responded quickly at every turn," he said in a statement released by the U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs Office.

The 378-foot-long Dallas has been homeported in Charleston since 1996 and carries a 160-member crew.

Wyman said the Dallas visited a number of west African ports before sailing for the Black Sea. "The Dallas is very excited to be involved in the operation. Getting around into Georgia was important. We're doing that in support of the Navy," Wyman said.

The U.S. Embassy in Georgia had earlier said the Dallas was headed to Poti but then retracted the statement. Zaza Gogava, head of Georgia's joint forces command, said Poti could have been mined by Russian forces and still contained several sunken Georgian ships hit in the fighting, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, the Russian missile cruiser Moskva and two smaller missile boats anchored at Sokhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, some 180 miles north of Batumi. The Russian navy said the ships were involved in peacekeeping operations.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.