Gayle Anderson reports from The Port of Los Angeles where L.A. Fleet Week 2022 preparations are underway, following its cancellation due to the pandemic.
The event is timed to coincide with Fleet Week New York for the first time ever. In addition, 2022 L.A. Fleet Week is being celebrated in two locations, The Battleship Iowa Museum and at Berth 46 at The Port of Los Angeles. There seems to be more stringent security precautions involved in the fleet week plan.
Today, we preview the arrival of the U.S.S. Portland (LPD-27), a San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship of the United States Navy, named after the city of Portland, Oregon. According to the Oregonian Newspaper, “…this is the third U.S.S. Portland in the Navy’s fleet.”
The first was a heavy cruiser that saw heavy action in World War II and was scrapped in 1962. That one was named for Portland, Maine. The second one was also a dock landing ship. It saw action in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was decommissioned in 2003 after 33 years of service. “It was sunk as a target,” the Navy said in 2004. That one was named for Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon. The Navy says this new one is named exclusively for Portland, Oregon.
The U.S.S. Portland is scheduled to arrive at 11 a.m. It will be greeted and escorted by the L.A. County Fire Department tugboats.
Visit their website for more information about this week’s L.A. Fleet Week activities.
This aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on May 23, 2022.