Marines and sailors man the rails of the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli as it arrives in Da Nang, Vietnam, Dec. 8, 2025. (Raul Sotovilla/U.S. Marine Corps)
Two U.S. Navy warships pulled into Da Nang, Vietnam, on Monday for the first Navy visit to the city in two years, according to the service.
The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli — lead vessel of the Navy’s only amphibious ready group outside the United States — arrived for the port call alongside the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam said in a Tuesday news release. The vessels carry a combined complement of approximately 2,300 sailors and Marines.
“Our visit highlights the strengthening relationship between our two nations and militaries, enables us to build operational understanding and trust, and reinforces our relationship on a personal level while advancing our shared goals of peace, prosperity, and economic security in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Rear Adm. Tom Shultz, commander of Task Force 76, said in the release.
The last Navy vessels to visit Da Nang — the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the Robert Smalls and the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam — arrived there in 2023. It was the third U.S. carrier visit to the country since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.
The amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche stopped at Cam Ranh, Vietnam, together in July 2024.
The Tripoli is expected to stay four days in Da Nang, during which its crew is scheduled to take part in a language exchange with Vietnamese students and help restore the Village of Hope Orphanage, among other activities, the Vietnam News website reported Monday.
“The visit by USS Tripoli and USS Robert Smalls coming as we close out celebrations to mark 30 years of bilateral relations is proof that the U.S.-Vietnam partnership has never been better,” U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper said in the news release.
The U.S. has provided $1.75 million in disaster relief following recent typhoons, Knapper said in the release. The growth of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship “has helped enhance Vietnam’s response capacity in disaster prone areas and strengthened people-to-people ties,” he added.
The Tripoli arrived in June at Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, where it relieved the amphibious assault ship USS America as the flagship of Amphibious Squadron 11’s amphibious ready group.
The group regularly deploys with the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Elements of the 31st MEU, including F-35B Lightning II fighter jets, MV-22B Osprey tiltrotors and rotary-wing support aircraft, embarked on the Tripoli in October, ahead of the ship’s deployment, according to an Oct. 27 unit news release.
U.S. 7th Fleet referred all questions to Task Force 76, which did not immediately respond to phone and email requests for comment Tuesday.
