'' Belknap '' played a role in the Malta Summit between US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev on 2 December and 3 December 1989 . The US President , along with his advisers , James Baker , John Sununu and Brent Scowcroft , had their sleeping quarters aboard '' Belknap '' , whereas the Soviet delegation used the missile cruiser '' Slava '' . The ships were anchored in a roadstead off the coast of Marsaxlokk . Stormy weather and choppy seas resulted in some meetings being cancelled or rescheduled , and gave rise to the moniker the " Seasick Summit " among international media . In the end , the meetings took place aboard '' Maxsim Gorkiy '' , a Soviet cruise ship anchored in the harbor at La Valletta . Engineers from the Navy Ship Systems Engineering Station devised a mooring arrangement for this event , and despite the worst-case 100-year storm event , '' Belknap '' held its ground using emergency operating procedures as outlined by the engineers
Malta Summit
Malta Summit
USS Belknap (CG-26)