Homer Alaska - News

The Kashima is one of three vessels comprising a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force training squadron that overnighted and took on fuel in Kachemak Bay on Saturday. Between June and October, the squadron will visit ports in the Unites States, Mexico, Panama, Chili, Peru and Canada. After leaving Kachemak Bay, the ships continued to Anchorage, the first disembarkation port. The three ships have a crew totaling nearly 700, with 175 of them JMSDF officer trainees. This is the eighth such voyage done by JMSDF squadrons, according to the Consular Office of Japan in Anchorage.