The USS Ted Stevens arrived in downtown Juneau Wednesday.
The 510-foot-long missile destroyer’s visit comes after its commissioning ceremony in Whittier on Saturday. The USS Ted Stevens is named after Alaska’s U.S. senator who served from 1968 to 2009 and helped usher in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The ship will be homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.
The U.S. Navy is offering public tours of the new warship, by online registration, on Thursday and Friday between noon and 4:30 p.m. The vessel is moored at the Cruise Ship Terminal Dock near the Goldbelt Tram.
The Navy is also sponsoring a block party on Front Street Thursday evening from 4 to 8 p.m., featuring live music from the High Costa Livin’.
While the ship is in Juneau, the U.S. Coast Guard is enforcing a Naval Vessel Protection Zone around it, meaning no person or boat can get within 500 yards without permission. Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $250,000, 6 years in prison and seizure of the vessel.
The USS Ted Stevens is scheduled to leave Juneau on Sunday.
