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MSC PAO 05-10
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Marge Holtz or Katie Dunnigan
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March 16, 2005

MSC awards special mission ship operating contract

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command awarded a one-year, $23 million contract to Maersk Line Limited, of Norfolk, Va., for the operation and maintenance of four ocean surveillance ships and two missile range instrumentation ships.

The contract includes four one-year options and five six-month award term options, which, if awarded, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $190 million.

The ocean surveillance ships -- USNS Effective, USNS Impeccable, USNS Loyal and USNS Victorious -- work directly with the Navy fleets to listen for undersea threats. The range instrumentation ships -- USNS Invincible and USNS Observation Island -- support the U.S. Air Force by serving as seaborne platforms for radar systems. As part of MSC's Special Mission Program, the noncombatant, government-owned ships will be crewed by U.S. commercial mariners.

Special mission ships provide operating platforms and services for unique U.S. military and federal government missions. These specialized services include oceanographic and hydrographic surveys, underwater surveillance, missile flight data collection and tracking, acoustic survey and submarine support.

In addition to performing special missions, MSC operates more than 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move 95 percent of military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.

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