USS Vella Gulf conducting sea trials after repairs By (0) The USS Vella Gulf, a five-inch cannon fires aboard the guided-missile cruiser is pictured in 2018, has left port for sea trials after being docked for repairs. Photo by James Norket/U.S. Navy April 22 (UPI) -- The USS Vella Gulf returned to sea this week after being docked for repairs, the Navy said. The guided-missile cruiser is undergoing sea trials to "test the ship's system efficiency and ensure proficiency at sea," 2nd Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Marycate Walsh said in a statement obtained by Navy Times and USNI News. Advertisement The Vella Gulf is part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and deployed to the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 19, but left the convoy near the Canary Islands on Feb. 26 due to a fuel oil leak later blamed on corrosion.