USS Portland CA-33 Heavy Cruiser passing under the
St Johns Bridge. The ship was named after the City of
Portland, Maine.

Multnomah County officials announced this years Portland Fleet
Week  kicks off Tuesday, and Portlanders can expect several
bridge lifts as ships arrive along the Willamette River.     

The Steel, Broadway, and Burnside bridges will be raising and
lowering to accommodate the vessels. The lifts will be longer
than normal, in some cases lasting up to 45 minutes.

• On Tuesday, three ships will be arriving with bridge lifts
  happening between 3 and 6 p.m.
• On Wednesday, four ships are arriving with bridge lifts
  between 4 and 8 p.m.

All of the ships will leave the following Monday, June 9.

“Expect frequent bridge lifts and traffic delays during ship
departures that morning.”

1954

On October 10, 1985, the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille
Lauro reached a dramatic climax when U.S. Navy F-14 fighters intercepted an Egyptian airliner attempting to fly the Palestinian
hijackers to freedom and force the jet to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily. American and Italian troops surrounded the plane,
and the terrorists were taken into Italian custody.

On October 7, four heavily armed Palestinian terrorists hijacked
the Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of
Alexandria, Egypt. Some 320 crewmembers and 80 passengers,
including 11 Americans, were taken hostage. 

Identifying themselves as members of the Palestine Liberation
Front, a Palestinian splinter group–the gunmen demanded the
release of 50 Palestinian militants imprisoned in Israel. If their
demands were not met, they threatened to blow up the ship and
kill all the Americans and British passengers on board.

The Achille Lauro cruise ship leaves Egypt’s Port Said harbor after being released from terrorist hijackers.