Mayport welcomes Italian submarine

Salvatore Todaro The boat will participate in training exercises and joint task force projects.

The conning tower broke through the water at the entrance to the St. Johns River as the lithe boat made its way up the river to Mayport Naval Station.

Inside the 180-foot-by-20-foot tube were about 30 Italian submariners, participants in a training exercise that marks the first time since World War II an Italian submarine has been in U.S. waters.

The sailors received a far warmer welcome than a similar crew might have some 60 years ago. On the agenda: Trips to tourist attractions, sporting events and shopping – activities that, in conjunction with a bevy of joint task force projects, are designed to make closer allies of the two fleets.

When the Salvatore Todaro docked Friday afternoon in the basin at Mayport, the crew members were greeted by a number of U.S. officers, including Cmdr. Ian Pollitt, commanding officer of the USS Klakring, which is hosting the Italian visitors.

“It was the best way we could contribute to the cause,” Pollitt said.

The trip over was the first long-term deployment of the vessel. Typically, said its captain, Lt. Cmdr. Mauro Panebianco, the country’s fleet sticks to operations in the Mediterranean Sea and nearby.

The Todaro will spend the next several days doing joint exercises with the U.S. Navy. As a smaller, diesel-powered boat, the Italian submarine differs significantly from the large nuclear-powered submarine used by the United States.

“The first step was arriving in the U.S.A.,” Panebianco said. “Now I’m sure we make good exercises.”