U.S. Navy ships, submarines in Hawaii to sortie as Douglas approaches state

PEARL HARBOR (KHON2) — U.S. Navy ships and submarines based in Hawaii that are not currently undergoing maintenance availabilities have begun plans to sortie as Hurricane Douglas travels toward the Hawaiian Islands.

Ships that sortie will be positioned to help respond after the storm if needed.

“We have been carefully tracking this storm, and based on the current track, we have decided to begin plans to sortie Pearl Harbor-based ships,” said Navy officials. “This allows the ships enough time to transit safely out of the path of the storm.”

Units will remain at sea until the threat from the storm subsides and Hawaii-based Navy aircraft will be secured in hangars or flown to other airfields to avoid the effects of the hurricane.

The Navy orders a sortie during potentially extreme weather conditions to reduce the risk of significant damage to ships, submarines and piers during high winds and seas.