Royal Canadian Navy ships join New York Fleet Week

The Royal Canadian Navy will be participating in the New York City’s annual Fleet Week from May 25 to 31, 2016.

Her Majesty’s Canadian destroyer Athabaskan (destroyer) and coastal defence vessels Kingston and Moncton were chosen to represent the Canadian flag.

The ships will be part of the U.S. Memorial Day weekend extravaganza featuring the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Marines, with approximately 4,500 uniformed personnel attending.

In support of the Fleet Week’s main mission of connecting citizens with their Navy and Marines, the Canadian ships will be open for daily tours and their personnel will be participating in various community relations events.

NYC has hosted fleet weeks for over a century, with the modern annual Fleet Week officially beginning in 1984. It has generally coincided with important events such as bicentennials, returning fleets from war, or like this year, falling on the U.S. Memorial Day weekend.

Along with the RCN ships, there will be eleven ships of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Naval Academy, and U.S. Coast Guard, featuring the USS Bataan, a multipurpose amphibious assault ship.

Canadian sailors and airmen will participate in the Marine-led Freedom Run, a tradition created after the events of 9/11 where Marines run two miles through the Manhattan financial district to the Ground Zero Memorial.