sailors can be reunited with their familes.

More than 700 relatives of crewmen on board warships in the mid-Atlantic will be flown onto the Island on Saturday.

And they will immediately be ferried or flown to the flotilla of US ships to see their loved ones.

The precise location of the John F. Kennedy battlegroup, which has been on patrol duty in the Mediterranean, cannot be revealed for security reasons.

Eleven warships, including the JFK , an aircraft carrier, will dock miles off the East End later this week.

Then Navy bosses will arrange for the families to join together for the first time in months.

The compassionate operation is known as a Tiger Cruise and focuses on Bermuda once or twice a year.

But this weekend's mission to sail families back to America on board the battleships is one of the navy's biggest ever off Bermuda.

Bruce Berton, spokesman for the US Consulate General, said the crewmen had been at sea for up to six months.

He added: "This is something we do regularly in the US Navy and from time to time we need to use Bermuda as a base.

"It happens when ships are returning to the US after months at sea and approach a location near home so families can meet up with the sailors early.

"In this case, the families will be flown to Bermuda to sail back to America on board the ships, which will be stationed offshore.'' He said 700 crew members will leave the ships and fly home from Bermuda to free accommodation on board the fleet.

Mr Berton added: "Most of the families live near the naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, and that's where the ships are heading.'' Jack Gordon, general manager for the Department of Airport Operations, said duty officers would be briefed to make sure the Tiger Cruise mission goes smoothly.

He added: "We will do everything we can to help the transfer of relatives onto the Island and onto the ships but we have no need to lay special preparations.