Ships Parade Kicks off NY Fleet Week

From the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center to New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York’s time-honored traditions are some of the most well-known around the world.

Arriving today as part of another New York tradition, a “parade of ships” from several branches of the U.S. military (and one ship from Canada) sailed into the New York Harbor and up the Hudson River from Battery Park to just south of the George Washington Bridge, for the 29th annual Fleet Week New York (FWNY). 

Now in its 29th year, FWNY is the city's celebration of the sea services that offers an opportunity for the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet service men and women, as well as witness firsthand the latest capabilities of today's maritime services. In all, some 3,700 sailors, marines and coast guardsmen will participate this year.

Ships will be open for general public tours starting Thursday, May 25.

• Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), from Norfolk, Virginia. USS Kearsarge will be embarking several hundred Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C.
• Legend-class cutter USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753), from Charleston, S.C.
• Kingston-class coastal defence vessel HMCS Glace Bay (MM 701), from Canadian Forces Base Halifax
• Four USNA YPs, from Annapolis, Md.
• Oceanographic research ship RV Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27), from Woods Hole, Mass.
• Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56), from Norfolk, Va.
• Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61), from Norfolk, Va. 
• Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82), from Mayport, Fla.
• Keeper-class cutter USCGC Katherine Walker (WLM 552), from Bayonne, N.J.
• Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Zephyr (PC 8), from Mayport, Fla.
• Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS Yuma (EPF 8)