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The United States Tuesday sent a large warship to Africa's oil-rich Gulf of Guinea for about a month to visit three countries and help train local navies, the U.S. military said. The world's top energy importer is keen to step up security in the West African gulf because its huge oil resources could supply a quarter of U.S. oil imports in a decade compared with 14 percent now, but it is surrounded by weak, unstable states. The commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, Vice-Admiral Harry Ulrich, said the deployment would "enhance security cooperation between the U.S. and participating Gulf of Guinea nations" and allow navies of the region to see an operating U.S. warship. The tour is a result of a Gulf of Guinea security conference attended by navies from Africa and the West last October in which they agreed to work more closely together to safeguard an area beset by piracy and arms smuggling. Washington fears that the poorly-defended region could become a target for attacks by groups aiming to threaten its energy supplies. [more]