It’s Fleet Week in New Orleans, and we’ll start to see the first of four vessels pulling up to the city sometime this afternoon, with general public tours available starting Tuesday.
It’s a chance for the public to get up close and personal with the world’s most advanced navy and meet the sailors who crew the nation’s ships. Jay Cope with the Civilian US Naval Command told WWL’s Newell Normand this time we’ll have two US Navy destroyers, along with a Coast Guard ship and a French vessel in port.
“They get a chance to come out and see the equipment and see the sailors who defend the nation,” said Cope. “We also have static displays of US Marine Corps equipment and vehicles, we have some unmanned underwater vehicles from the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Command up at Stennis.”
Pre-scheduled group tours will begin Tuesday morning at 8:30, while first come first served public tours will run from 1 PM to 5 PM that afternoon, with public tours rolling Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM and 1 PM to 5 PM.
Navy Week was supposed to cruise through the Cresent City in 2021 but was postponed due to COVID. Cope said it’s an honor that only arrives once every three years.
“New York Fleet Week, San Francisco Fleet Week, I believe Los Angeles and maybe Seattle have them as well, so there are not many cities that are actually capable of hosting these,” said Cope.
