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Colombian Navy ship stops in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 165 Colombian naval junior officers stopped in Jacksonville Thursday morning on the ARC Gloria, a training ship.

Lt. Andres Henao spoke with Action News Jax moments after the ship docked.

“I’m so glad to be here,” he said.

The ARC Gloria isn’t just any naval ship. It’s a training ship for cadets. There, they learn to sail and navigate.

“We have to train them because they will be future officers of the Navy,” Henao said.

The ARC Gloria’s first trip post-pandemic. This ship goes all over the world.

Henao says the crew has been out at sea since May. He calls the team a brotherhood.

“We are so close with each other.”

The crewmembers can’t wait to get to know the men and women at Mayport. They’ll be learning from the naval officers there, touring the ships.

Lt. Henaosays getting to travel the world is invaluable. He says ARC Gloria’s next stop is Vera Cruz, Mexico, and then Honduras. The crewmembers will return home to Colombia August 9th.

The ARC Gloria has been to Jacksonville twice; the last time was in 2012.

Mayport gets a lot of foreign visitors, navies from France, Japan, Peru and even China have all made stops at Mayport.