An F-35 Lightning II fighter is silhouetted on the flight deck as the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson pulls into Port Klang, Malaysia, Dec. 29, 2024. (Nathan Jordan/U.S. Navy)
The USS Carl Vinson pulled into Port Klang over the weekend, marking a Navy aircraft carrier’s second visit to Malaysia in as many months after a 12-year pause, according to the Navy.
The carrier and its strike group, which includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS William P. Lawrence, arrived at the port near Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, just after sunrise Sunday, according to a Navy news release that day.
A spokeswoman for the carrier declined Tuesday to say how long the Carl Vinson would remain in port, but it may welcome the new year there. Navy port calls vary in length, but a four-day stay by an aircraft carrier is common.
The USS Abraham Lincoln made a four-day port call Nov. 23 at Port Klang, the first U.S. carrier to stop there since 2012. The same carrier also stayed four days at Guam in August.
During their stay, sailors with the Carl Vinson strike group will volunteer with animal shelters and the Pure Life Society, a home for orphans and underprivileged children, carrier spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Devin Arneson told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday. A carrier strike group may include approximately 7,500 sailors and Marines.
The two carrier visits to Malaysia this year mark the 10th anniversary of a comprehensive partnership with the U.S. that began in April 2014, according to the release.
The Carl Vinson’s visit is meant to “reinforce the importance” of that partnership, Arneson said.
The visit will “build upon our strategic and mutually beneficial partnership, while also providing our Sailors well-deserved downtime to explore the rich cultural offerings of Kuala Lumpur and build connections within the community,” she said.
Dawn breaks as the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson pulls into Port Klang, Malaysia, Dec. 29, 2024. (Nathan Jordan/U.S. Navy)
The Carl Vinson last visited Malaysia in January 2011, Arneson said.
“The back-to-back visits of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and the USS Abraham Lincoln to Malaysia underscore the depth and strength of our security ties,” U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D. Kagan said in the release.
The Carl Vinson and its strike group departed their homeport, Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., on Nov. 18 for a scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
The group conducted flight operations in the Philippine Sea in December, including flights with six additional F-35C Lightning II aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5, based in Japan, according to posts on the carrier’s Facebook page Dec. 14 and 15.
The carrier transited the Surigao and Balabac straits in the Philippines, according to a Dec. 24 Facebook post. The group was operating in the South China Sea before arriving in Malaysia, according to Navy photos online and Facebook posts on Thursday.
The Abraham Lincoln was the first U.S. carrier to visit Malaysia since the arrest of Leonard Glenn Francis — also known as “Fat Leonard” — who orchestrated a decade-long scheme to bribe U.S. Navy officials.
The Department of Justice said Francis swindled the Navy out of more than $30 million. Port Klang was among Francis’ “pearl ports,” named for their profitability in the scheme.
Francis, the former head of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He was sentenced in November to 15 years in prison for paying off more than 30 Navy officials with cash, prostitutes and luxury travel to secure lucrative contracts.
