USS Princeton (CG 59) arrives at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, as seen from Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, Calif., in February 2023. (Eric Parsons/U.S. Navy)
(Tribune News Service) — Three active-duty U.S. Navy ships and one U.S. Coast Guard ship will be available for public tours during LA Fleet Week, which runs through Memorial Day weekend.
Tours will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday to Monday, May 26-29.
The Navy ships will be berthed in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor at the southern-most coastline, Berth 46, at the end of Miner Street and beyond the S.S. Lane Victory. The Coast Guard ship — the Terrell Horne — will be located in the Downtown Harbor just south of the main LA Fleet Week Expo area, between the fire station and the Los Angeles Maritime Museum.
The only way to get onboard the Navy ships will be to take a shuttle bus from the main LA Fleet Week Expo — alongside the Battleship Iowa, 250 S. Harbor Blvd. — and then get in line. Heading out there earlier in the day is best, organizers said, and they suggest visitors be in line no later than 3 p.m.
The visiting ships are:
• USS Cincinnati (LCS-20): Designed to provide the Navy with modern and networked sea-based platforms, the 418-foot independence-class littoral combat ship, built in Mobile, Ala., was commissioned on Oct. 5, 2019, and has been deployed at various international ports, including in Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. The crew includes eight officers, 32 enlisted personnel and up to 35 mission crew. The ship is equipped with Rolling Airframe Missile protection from air threats, features improved nuclear blast and fragmentation protection, and a shock-hardened structure. The fiber-optic shipboard-wide area network allows “plug in and fight” configuration, updating and replacing hardware more easily when newer technology becomes available.
• USS Princeton (CG-59): Home-ported in San Diego, this is the 13th Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of Princeton. The 567 foot-long ship, with 24 officers and 340 enlisted on board, has completed three deployments to the Arabian Gulf and won two consecutive Battle Efficiency Awards in 1992-93. Princeton was the first Ticonderoga-class cruiser to carry the upgraded AN/SPY-1B radar system. Built in Pascagoula, Miss., the ship was commissioned on Feb. 11, 1989, and carries, among an array of armament, anti-submarine missiles, harpoon missiles, quad-canister launchers, torpedoes, and a machine gun system.
• USS Ashland (LSD-48): Based in San Diego, the 610-foot vessel is the eighth Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship and the second U.S. Navy ship to be named for Ashland, the home of Henry Clay, in Lexington, Ky. Commissioned on May 9, 1992, in New Orleans, its past port calls and visits include Japan, the Middle East, Philippines, South America and West Africa. The crew includes 20 officers and 302 enlisted.
The Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne arrives in San Pedro, Calif., in January 2019. (DaVonte Marrow/U.S. Coast Guard)
• US Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Terrell Horne (WPC-1131): Based in San Pedro, the Terrell Horne is the third of four planned FRCs to be stationed in the Port of Los Angeles. FRCs are replacing the 1980s-era Island-class 110-foot patrol boats and ae designed for multiple missions, including drug and migrant interdictions; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The cutters feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment. Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, the cutter’s namesake, served as executive petty officer of Coast Guard Cutter Halibut. He was killed while conducting maritime law enforcement operations near Santa Cruz Island on Dec. 2, 2012.
There are several requirements and restrictions for those who wish to tour the ships. Those are:
•Visitors must be at least 5 years of age.
• No strollers permitted on the ships.
• Visitors must be able to walk unassisted without the aid of supporting devices for access to the vessels.
• Visitors must be able to walk through tight spaces and up and down steep ladders.
• An equivalency experience will be offered if desired.
• No public restrooms are available aboard the ships, but will be on the dock.
• Wear closed-toed shoes. For your safety, flip flops and high heels are strongly discouraged.
• No pets allowed.
For more information, visit lafleetweek.com/events_schedule/ships/
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