Portland Fleet Week Underway: Tickets, Bridge Lifts And Ships

PORTLAND, OR — After a two-year pandemic-induced absence, Portland Fleet Week returns Wednesday, with eight ships from the U.S. Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and the Job Corps Seamanship Academy arriving for a visit through Monday.

It's part of Rose Festival activities, but Fleet Week has been a Portland tradition dating back to 1907.

Three ships will arrive Wednesday, and five ships will arrive Friday and will moor along Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

All eight ships will be open for tours, with each ship setting its own hours, which will be posted on the Rose Festival Fleet Week webpage.

There will also be a welcome tent on the waterfront next to the ships, where people will be able to line up for tours, which are free and require no tickets. None of the ships is accessible under the Americans With Disabilities Act, but dockside tours can be requested at the tent.

Three ships will arrive about 2 p.m. Wednesday and five more about 3 p.m. Thursday.

With the arrival of each ship, the Steel, Burnside, Broadway and Morrison bridges will lift to allow it to pass. Drivers were urged to take the Hawthorne Bridge, and pedestrians and bicyclists to use the Tilikum Crossing.

Each bridge lift should last about a half-hour. Officials caution it could be longer or shorter, so people should be patient.

The same will be true on Monday, when the bridge lifts start at 7:30 a.m. and last roughly until noon.

The visiting ships include the following.

U.S. Navy

• USS Michael Monsoor.
• USS Coronado.

U.S. Coast Guard

• USCGC Terrapin.
• USCGC Bluebell.
• USCGC Elm.

Royal Canadian Navy

• HMCS Edmonton.
• HMCS Brandon.

Job Corps Seamanship Academy

• T/V Ironwood

For people wanting to take a tour, Rose Festival organizers advised the following rules will be in effect.

• Bring your government-issued identification.
• Visitors will pass through an airport-style security screening checkpoint and may be subject to personal search.
• Visitors must wear closed-toe shoes.
• Bags, strollers and wheelchairs are not allowed on board, and there is no holding area for personal items.
• Do not bring any items on the prohibited items list
• Visitors must be physically able to maneuver on board, including climbing narrow ladders.