USS Michigan guided missile submarine visits Singapore for a second time

Torpedoes lie stacked in the USS Michigan. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
Torpedoes lie stacked in the USS Michigan. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
Seaman Trevor Couture, 21, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, prepares dessert in the crew's mess aboard the USS Michigan. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
Captain Ben Pearson, III, the commanding officer of the USS Michigan, in his room where he works and sleeps. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
A bunk with 3 beds on the USS Michigan. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
A member of the media trying out the periscope in the control centre, during a tour of the USS Michigan's facilities. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
USS Michigan, a US Navy Ohio-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine is at Changi Naval Base in Singapore for a 4-day stop-over. -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG

SINGAPORE - The USS Michigan, a guided missile submarine from the United States Navy, docked at the Changi Naval Base here last Sunday for a routine port call.

The 170-m long nuclear-powered vessel first visited Singapore in 2009. It is making one last stop here after a four-month-long deployment in the Indo Asia-Pacific region, said its commanding officer Captain Benjamin Pearson .

"For my guys, they get the opportunity to see the world, to see Singapore," he said.

"But we're also here as a force in the Pacific area, to show our presence in the region, and show that the US is a good global player."

The USS Michigan is one of four Ohio-class guided missile submarines in the US Navy, capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and 12 torpedoes. It is also able to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

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