Typhoon Mina forces postponement of US carrier's Manila visit

Bad weather conditions brought about by Typhoon Mina (Nanmadol) forced the postponement of the Manila visit of the US Navy's nuclear-powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis. The US Embassy in Manila said the postponement means tours aboard the ship as well as the reception on board are canceled for now. "Due to weather conditions, the visit to Manila by the US Navy's John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, originally scheduled for this weekend, has been postponed. Weather permitting, the strike group may return to continue its port visit at a later date," the US Embassy said in its Facebook account Saturday. The USS John Stennis (CVN 74) was scheduled to arrive in Manila Saturday for a goodwill visit. It is on its way for a seven-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. The visit of USS Stennis comes after the arrival in Manila of BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a Hamilton-class cutter the Philippine government acquired from the US Coast Guard. USS John C. Stennis is the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the US Navy. It was commissioned in December 1995. — LBG, GMA News