Boston braces for Sail250: 60 tall ships and 4 million visitors – The Boston Globe

“Leave your car at home, and take the T,” said Deirdre Habershaw, MBTA’s deputy chief operating officer, at a press conference held at Seaport.

Six more tall ships are expected than the number that came during the last Tall Sail Boston event in June 2017. Boston is the tour’s last port after it stops at New Orleans, Norfolk, Baltimore, and New York City.

Organizers expect the visitors to gather along the waterfront throughout the week, but anticipate the highest number on July 11 for the Parade of Sail, the event’s centerpiece.

During it, dozens of vessels enter Boston Harbor in a coordinated procession. The USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat, and the U.S Coast Guard’s Eagle, the training vessel used to train future Coast Guard officers, will lead the fleet. They’ll be followed by ships representing countries like Argentina, Colombia, India, Italy, Portugal, and Uruguay, celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary by making it a global gathering.

Along with increased subway service that day, there will also be shuttle connections linking major lines to waterfront access points, transit officials said. Dedicated shuttle services will be provided from the Red Line’s JFK/UMass station to the Castle Island parking lot and from the Orange Line’s Sullivan station to the Charlestown Navy Yard.

“On July 11, all ferries will be suspended to accommodate the security infrastructure within the harbor,” Habershaw said. “All ferry routes will operate on normal schedules from July 12 through the 16th.”

A key infrastructure addition this year is the deployment of temporary dock extensions at multiple waterfront points, including near the courthouse dock area and behind Leader Bank Pavilion.

“We’re putting a large system to extend it to accommodate more tall ships in the harbor,” said David Choate, director of operations of Sail Boston, adding that the construction of said docks starts next week.

Boston Police Superintendent Lanita Cullinane said that all laws will be enforced throughout the event, including bans on open containers, public alcohol consumption, marijuana use, drones, and oversized bags in viewing areas.

Sail Boston will be on both land and at sea, so security personnel will include city and state officers, as well as the Boston Police Department’s harbor unit.

“There’s going to be some things that we have to do to cater it to the different areas where the events are taking place,” Cullinane said during an interview after the conference.

Nick Gove, chief of streets for the City of Boston, said during the event that there will be temporary road closures along the waterfront in the North End, South Boston, East Boston, and the Navy Yard in Charlestown. He recommended that residents who live near the waterfront review the closures on event days.

“Public works and transportation team will provide supplemental sanitation services, parking enforcement, and traffic management to help keep our streets clean, safe, and efficient,” Gove said.

This year, a major digital component will support crowd control: a dedicated mobile application that will provide real-time updates on ship locations, boarding schedules, transit conditions, and crowd density indicators. The app went live on Wednesday.

“If we know, for example, Commonwealth Pier is very crowded, but Charlestown Navy Yard is not, we would put that sort of public-facing information up to direct people where they don’t have to wait,” Choate said during an interview.

Visitors will have the opportunity to tour many of the vessels for free during the week, although boarding procedures and availability will vary by ship. Many of the larger vessels will dock in and around the Seaport, including near Fan Pier and the Boston Fish Pier, making the neighborhood the center of activity during the celebration.

“We are prepared for all of the events that are taking place over the summer,” Cullinane said. “And we’ll continue to operate as we have been.”

Aayushi Datta can be reached at aayushi.datta@globe.com.