President Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement about shipbuilding alongside his Pentagon chief and Navy secretary on Monday, in accordance to an individual acquainted with the plans.
The announcement, set for 4:30 p.m. ET from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, comes amid a large US naval buildup within the Caribbean Sea as Trump applies stress on Venezuelan chief Nicolás Maduro, together with makes an attempt to lower off his oil revenues.
The Navy on Friday introduced it will fee a brand new class of frigates, constructed within the United States, as a part of the brand new “Golden Fleet,” which Trump envisions as a extra superior assortment of ships meant to higher counter China. Frigates are designed to shield sea lanes and shield bigger vessels.
The Navy has been concerned in a string of interdictions of oil tankers within the Caribbean, although the US Coast Guard has taken the lead within the operations. The US has intercepted two tankers off the coast of Venezuela this month, and on Sunday, the Coast Guard was in “active pursuit” of the huge tanker Bella 1 after it refused to submit to US seizure efforts.
The standing of the pursuit was unclear on Monday morning, however American officers stated the truth that the tanker — which was empty and headed to Venezuela to load up on oil — turned around and is now crusing away from the nation was itself successful.