US Naval warship visits southern Alaska port city

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship has docked at an Alaska port for a rare visit.

The Juneau Empire reported Saturday that the USS Zumwalt docked in Ketchikan for a weekend stay beginning Saturday.

Officials say the 610-footlong ship based in San Diego was scheduled to be open for public tours Sunday in the southern Alaska city.

Ketchikan’s port and harbors director says bigger fenders were needed to make sure the ship would fit without damaging either the vessel or the dock.

An official says the last Navy visit to Ketchikan was the USS Ogden in 2005, while the USS O’Kane stopped in Juneau nearly 300 miles (about 483 kilometers) further north in May 2017.

The Navy official says the time gap and strategic reasons were behind the Alaska stop.

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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com