Three Royal Canadian Navy ships will be taking part in the New York City’s annual Fleet Week

Three Royal Canadian Navy ships will be taking part in the New York City’s annual Fleet Week from May 25 to 31.

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships Athabaskan, Kingston, and Moncton will be part of the festivities of the U.S. Memorial Day weekend that will also feature the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marines, totalling an attendance of 4,500 by uniformed personnel.

RCN ships will be joined by eleven U.S. Navy, Naval Academy and U.S. Coast Guard ships including the USS Bataan, a multipurpose amphibious assault ship.

“The participation of Royal Canadian Navy ships in this year’s New York City Fleet Week provides an excellent opportunity to build cohesion within the Alliance and demonstrate the strength of our partnership with the United States Navy,” said Commodore C.A Baines, Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic.

RCN members attending the event will have the chance to serve as ambassadors of Canada as the Canadian ships will be open for daily tours and personnel will be participating in various community events. Attendance for the tours alone is expected to be close to 20,000 visitors per day.

Canadian airmen and sailors will also be participating in the Marine-led Freedom Run. The Freedom Run was established after the 9/11 attacks and consists of Marines running two miles through the Manhattan financial district to the Ground Zero Memorial.

NYC has been hosting fleet weeks for more than a century. The modern annual Fleet Week began in 1984 and typically coincides with important events such as returning fleets from war, bicentennials or, this year, U.S. Memorial Day weekend.

Featured image: Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship ATHABASKAN departs Canadian Forces Base Halifax Dockyard, Nova Scotia for Operation CARIBBE at on April 16, 2015.