will arrive on the Island in April for a four-day stay.

Members of the public will be able to tour the five frigates and one destroyer when the ships from the Standing Naval Force Atlantic -- NATO's permanent Atlantic fleet -- reach the Island.

The sailors will sleep on-ship but will be allowed to party on the Island, which should be good news for bar owners.

The battleships from the United States, Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada, arrive in Bermuda on April 14 out of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Government House, which is helping co-ordinate the visit, is hoping to organise a children's party on board one of the ships and to arrange rugby and football matches against the Police.

The flagship 563-feet destroyer, the USS Moosebrugger , commanded by Rear Admiral Tom Wilson, and the 442-feet Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton will be at Dockyard.

The German frigate FGS Niedersachsen , measuring 427 feet, the 486-feet British battleship HMS Campbelltown , Spanish frigate SPS Reina Sofia (452 feet) and the 428-feet Dutch ship HNLMS Bloys Van Treslong will be in Hamilton.

The ships have been stopping at the Island as a courtesy for the past few years because Bermuda is considered part of the NATO alliance.

Rear Admiral Wilson will be met in Hamilton by Governor Thorold Masefield, Premier Jennifer Smith, and Mayor William Frith. He will host a lunch, which will also be attended by Deputy Governor Tim Gurney, and the US and German honorary consuls.

Officers will also enjoy a reception at Government House hosted by the Governor.

The fleet will set sail across the Atlantic on April 17 to visit ports in Europe.

Don MacPherson of shipping agents John S. Darrell, who are handling the fleet, said: "It's always quite an impressive sight to see the military ships come in, particularly when they all arrive one behind the other.

"The arrival and departure days create a lot of interest and groups of people can go on-board for a visit.''