The State Department has hired the cruise ship Orient Queen to evacuate U.S. citizens from Beirut starting Tuesday, according to the Pentagon. The Orient Queen can carry about 750 passengers for the approximate five-hour crossing from Beirut to Cyprus, according to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. An American Navy destroyer, the USS Gonzales will escort the ship for security reasons.
At least 8,000 of the estimated 25,000 American citizens in Lebanon registered with the American embassy prior to the war between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah. Several hundred have expressed interest in being evacuated.
USS Gonzalez is named after Medal of Honor winner Marine Sergeant Freddy Gonzalez.
Here are links to photos of the cruise ship. Note the helicopter pad on the ship. |