"This ship is like a city and it was great to bring thousands of sailors to Croatia to enjoy the rich history and culture that you have," Dave Pollard, captain of the visiting USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, which will leave Split on Tuesday, said on Monday.

“You were great hosts. It was great to bring the sailors to Croatia to enjoy the rich history and culture you have. We sent the sailors to Dubrovnik and the Krk national park, and we did a few community projects with primary schools,” Pollard told reporters who visited the American aircraft carrier on Monday.

The US Navy USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) aircraft carrier sailed into Split harbour last Thursday. It is one of the youngest US aircraft carriers and the largest warship in the world. It is 333 meters long and 41 meters wide.

The ship’s maximum speed “exceeds 30 knots” and is powered by two nuclear reactors. It took six years to build and it was completed in 2009 for a total of $6.2 billion. It can sail for more than 20 years without refuelling.

“We are currently in the Mediterranean and the weather is very nice here, so we plan to continue training further. We have eight squadrons, two helicopter and five F/A-18 squadrons. Each probably has between 15 and 20 pilots. There are both men and women among them. We are ready to carry out all possible operations,” explained Rear Admiral, Dennis Velez, commander of the 10th aircraft carrier battle group.

Pollard told reporters that they have about a hundred aircraft flying a day and they are capable of maintaining operations 24 hours a day. The ship can accommodate 3,532 crew members and carry 90 planes and helicopters. The naval base in Norfolk, Virginia (USA) is the ship’s home port.