World’s biggest warship visits Oslo, angering Russia

A US aircraft carrier arrived Wednesday in Oslo with the Norwegian armed forces saying it gives them “a unique opportunity to further develop cooperation and work more closely with our most important ally, the United States.”

The nuclear-powered ship USS Gerald R. Ford entered the Oslo fjord escorted by a rapid dinghy-type boat with armed personnel on board. The Norwegian armed forces has said any boats must stay a half-kilometer away from the aircraft carrier and a no-fly zone was created over the area where the aircraft carrier was.

Described as the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the vessel will stay in the Norwegian capital until Tuesday. It is then expected to take part in drills with the Norwegian armed forces.

The ship’s first foreign call was broadcast live on Norwegian public television. Onlookers, some using binoculars, were seen on land watching as the large aircraft carrier glided deeper and deeper into the fjord and eventually reach the city of Oslo.

Laila Wilhelmsen, who stood along the route in Droebak, said that she grew up in the small town about halfway through the fjord during the Cold War in the 1950s and “there were warships here all the time.” “I don’t know, but now we have teased (Russian President Vladimir) Putin even more. It’s scary, I think,” she told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. The Russian Embassy in Oslo said that “such demonstrations of power look illogical and harmful.