COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- The submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a scheduled port visit Aug. 29.

The ships visit to Colombo is aimed at building friendship and goodwill between the U.S. Navy and the people of Sri Lanka.

Capt. Drew St. John, commanding officer of Frank Cable, said the crew is excited for this visit after completing a successful mission in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

"This is a great opportunity to visit with the people of Colombo and to experience the rich Sri Lankan culture," said St. John. "Engagements such as this are important in building a strong relationship between the United States and Sri Lanka that will help foster greater stability, security, prosperity and rules-based order for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and around the world."

St. John went on to say he is, "looking forward to this opportunity to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to partners such as Sri Lanka."

Sailors and Military Sealift Command Civilian Mariners have coordinated to spend free time volunteering within the community and are scheduled to conduct bilateral training evolutions with the Sri Lankan navy.

"COMRELs are an important part of establishing healthy partnerships between the U.S. and our host nations like Sri Lanka," said Frank Cable's Command Master Chief Paul Sweeney. "I get excited when I see our junior Sailors take advantage of COMRELs where they get to experience other cultures and act as ambassadors for the Navy and the United States."

Frank Cable is the third ship and first submarine tender to visit Sri Lanka this year in an effort to increase friendship with the people of Colombo and interoperability with the Sri Lankan navy.

USS Frank Cable is one of two forward-deployed submarine tenders and is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to conduct maintenance and support of USS Frank Cable is one of two forward-deployed submarine tenders and is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to conduct maintenance and support of deployed U.S. naval force submarines and surface vessels in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.