U.S. warship deployed near Sochi runs aground

2/19/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy says one of two U.S. warships dispatched to the Black Sea before the Sochi Winter Olympics is being inspected for damage after it ran aground at a Turkish port last week.

The frigate USS Taylor ran aground Feb. 12 as it was preparing to moor at Samsun, Turkey, about 230 miles southwest of Sochi. The Navy says the Taylor was able to dock without further incident and no one was injured.

The Taylor and the USS Mount Whitney were sent to the Black Sea in early February. The deployment was announced after an uptick in reports of security threats against the Olympics, although the Pentagon said the U.S. warships were deployed as part of normal military planning and could perform any required missions, including communications or evacuations.