US Vessel Transporting Military Equipment Docks at Alexandroupolis

The US vessel “Liberty Pride” sailed into the port of Alexandroupolis, Greece, on Saturday, carrying military equipment destined for NATO forces deployed in southeastern Europe.

The gigantic ship (length 199.9 m, width 32.26 m, and draft 8.5 m) began unloading military supplies which will be despatched to Bulgaria and Romania, where two major NATO exercises, Atlantic Resolve 23 and Defender Europe 23, will be held.

Liberty Pride arrived in Alexandroupolis from the US port of Charleston, and will set sail in the middle of next week after unloading more supplies and equipment for NATO forces on the Black Sea coast. The US carrier is the front of a supply chain on behalf of Allied forces in Southeast Europe, a process expected to last until the end of August.

As in other transits of military missions, cargoes will continue from the port of Alexandroupolis by trains and trucks. The loads returning from the exercise fields follow the same route in reverse.

200 US military personnel settle in Alexandroupolis, Greece

In order to coordinate and supervise the crossings in cooperation with the port authorities and the Greek army, more than two hundred American military personnel have arrived in Alexandroupolis.

The US personnel were settled in the Giannoulis military base as provided for in the Greek-American Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA). The base has been configured for their accommodation throughout the operation of transporting the material.

On the occasion of the arrival of the ship, in his post on social media, the president of the Port Authority, Konstantinos Hatzimichael, states:

“We start from today simultaneous operations of circular rotation of military material of the US Army with combined ship-train-truck vehicle transfers.”

Μετά από τις κινήσεις Ιαν-Φεβ για @UN & Ιταλικό Στρατό & καθώς πραγματοποιούμε συνεχείς εκφορτώσεις βαρέως εξοπλισμού για το ενεργειακά projects της περιοχής (power plant & FSRU) ξεκινάμε ταυτόχρονες επιχειρήσεις κυκλικής εναλλαγής στρατιωτικού υλικού/μέσων του @USArmyEURAF! pic.twitter.com/qLFtYBRW5i

— Konstantinos Chatzimichail (@chatzimichail_k) March 4, 2023

Earlier in February, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for international security affairs, Celeste Wallander, visited the northern city of Greece, where she was briefed about the port’s role in facilitating the shipment of American and NATO weapons and personnel to Central and Eastern Europe.

Wallander was accompanying US Secretary of State Antony Blinken,! who was in Athens on Monday to meet with the country’s leadership and open the 4th Greece-US Strategic Dialogue with Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.