MAYPORT, Fla. – Ships departed from the Naval Station Mayport Tuesday to prep for Tropical Storm Helene.
The guided-missile destroyer, USS Black was the first ship to depart from the station with other boats to follow.
Three hundred Navy men and women were on the ship.
Commanding Officer Brian Binder said they started prepping for the storm early.
“Our goal right now is to have every ship that is capable to go to sea we will send to sea. Now realize that Mayport, we are an active port, so there are ships that are in maintenance and those are not in a position to safely go to sea,” Binder said.
From sending sailors off to securing ships staying behind, the naval station was ready for Helene’s impact.
“So they’ll get underway, obviously, in advance of the storm, because we can’t just leave on Thursday afternoon. We will make sure they’re out ahead of the storm, and then they’ll come back in after this storm passes,” Binder said.
More ships and aircraft are expected to leave Wednesday ahead of this storm.