Ships gathered in Portsmouth for the 2001 International Festival of the Sea in the week leading to the event. Many ships Open for Visitors and this years set piece was a recovery of hostages from an island, set up in one of the basins. 
Units |
| Dates | Unit | Models |
|---|---|---|
| 24aug01 to 25aug01 |  Solent District HM Coastguard | S-61 H-3 |
|
Individual helicopters| Model | IDs |
|---|---|
| Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk | 162342 |
| Sikorsky S-70B-1 Seahawk | HS.23-04 |
| Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King | 12405 |
| Sikorsky S-61N Mk.II | G-BDIJ |
| Westland Lynx mk88 | 83+04 |
| Westland Sea King HC.4 | ZD627 ZF118 |
| Westland Lynx HAS2 | XZ239 XZ246 |
| Westland Lynx AH9 | ZG885 |
| Westland Super Lynx mk95 | 19205 |
| Westland Lynx AH7 | ZE375 |
| Westland Sea King HAS.1 | XV699 |
| Westland Sea King HAS.5 | ZD636 |
| Westland Sea King HAS.6 | ZG816 |
| Westland Lynx HAS4 (FN) | 808 |
| Westland Lynx HAS3S | ZF557 |
| Aerospatiale SA341B Gazelle AH.1 | XW848 ZB676 |
| MBB Bo105C | G-THLS |
| Boeing CH-47D Chinook | ZA680 |
| AgustaWestland Merlin HM.1 | ZH849 |
Ships |
| Classes | Ships | |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Carrier V STOL | Invincible class | R06 HMS Illustrious, |
| Helicopter Carrier | Argus class | A135 RFA Argus, |
| Guided-Missile Destroyer | Arleigh Burke Flight IIA class |  DDG-81 USS Winston S Churchill, |
| Guided-Missile Destroyer | Type 42 (Batch 1 and 2) class | D87 HMS Newcastle, D88 HMS Glasgow, D91 HMS Nottingham, |
| Guided-Missile Destroyer | Type 42 (Batch 3) | D98 HMS York, |
| Destroyer | F67 Tourville class |  D612 De Grasse, |
| Guided-Missile Frigate | Santa Maria class |  F-85 Navarra, |
| Frigate | F 122 Bremen class |  F210 Emden, |
| Frigate | Vasco da Gama class |  F332 NRP Corte-Real, |
| Frigate | City class |  FFH 330 HMCS Halifax, |
| Frigate | Type 23 Duke class | F229 HMS Lancaster, F233 HMS Marlborough, F237 HMS Westminster, F80 HMS Grafton, |
| Support Ship | 703 Walchensee class | A1425 Ammersee, |
| Support Ship | Rover class | A269 RFA Grey Rover, |
| Support Ship | Patricia class | THV Patricia, |
| Icebreakers | Polar Circle class | A171 HMS Endurance (1992), |
