The crew of the USS Monterey seized thousands of illegal weapons on 6 and 7 May. During the search of a suspicious, stateless dhow in the northern part of the Arabian Sea, the US Coast Guard boarding team found a wide arsenal of warlike material. These included modern anti-tank missiles, Kalashnikov machine guns and sniper rifles as well as optical sights. All of the weapons were produced in Russia and China.
The USS Monterey is a cruiser of the Ticonderoga-class and was put into service in June 1990. With a length of 173 metres, it displaces 9750 tonnes. There are 390 crew members on board.

Text: mb; Photos: US Navy