The vessel had a multinational force of sailors, engineers, medical specialists and musicians. It was part of an annual operation known as the Pacific Partnership - annual humanitarian and outreach program in its eighteenth year running.
"Our relationship with these countries that we visit is most important," US Embassy in Samoa's charge d'Affaires Noriko Horiuchi said.
"Relationships with countries should not just be government-to-government, it should also be people-to-people.