Sealift Ships – 26 (as of Sept. 30, 2005) Tankers – 5 USNS Paul Buck (T-AOT 1122) USNS Samuel L. Cobb (T-AOT 1123) USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT 1125) USNS Richard G. Matthiesen (T-AOT 1124) MV Montauk* Dry Cargo Ships – 2 MV Baffin Strait* MV Sea Mark III (DRSS)* Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-On/    Roll-Off Ships – 11 USNS Benavidez (T-AKR 306) USNS Brittin (T-AKR 305) USNS Fisher (T-AKR 301) USNS Gilliland (T-AKR 298) USNS Gordon (T-AKR 296) USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR 300) USNS Mendonca (T-AKR 303) USNS Pililaau (T-AKR 304) USNS Seay (T-AKR 302) USNS Shughart (T-AKR 295) USNS Yano (T-AKR 297) Fast Sealift Ships – 8 USNS Algol (T-AKR 287) USNS Altair (T-AKR 291) USNS Antares (T-AKR 294) USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR 288) USNS Capella (T-AKR 293) USNS Denebola (T-AKR 289) USNS Pollux (T-AKR 290) USNS Regulus (T-AKR 292) *Long-term charter

n FY 2005, the Sealift Program delivered the combat cargo and equipment needed by U.S. forces engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the global war on terrorism and peacekeeping operations in Eastern Europe, as well as general cargo for other day-to-day missions for the Department of Defense around the world.

In addition to the Sealift Program’s 23 government-owned and three long-term, commercially chartered dry cargo ships and tankers, the 57 ships of the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force, or RRF, come under MSC’s operational control when they are activated.  These government-owned ships offset a lack of suitable military cargo ships in the U.S. commercial sector. MSC charters additional commercial ships or activates RRF ships whenever mission requirements call for more capacity.

Tanker Project

In FY 2005, Tanker Project ships moved 1.8 billion gallons of fuel for the DOD. Thirty ships made a total of 233 voyages. The majority of the cargo was carried by five T-5, or Champion-class, tankers and MV Montauk, a small, 30,000-barrel capacity ship operating in the Japan-Korea area. Of the 24 remaining ships that moved fuel, two were U.S.-flagged, and the other 22 were foreign-flagged ships. Nearly 83 percent of all voyages were made on U.S. flagged ships carrying 76 percent of all fuel moved. This was an increase from prior years but still reflective of the lack of U.S. flag commercial tankers operating in the international trades.

For more than 30 years, Military Sealift Command has participated in Operation Deep Freeze, the annual operation that re-supplies McMurdo Station in Antarctica. MSC tanker USNS Paul Buck, right front, U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star, left front, research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer, left rear, and Russian icebreaker MV Krasin, right rear, arrive at McMurdo Station. Photo courtesy of MV American Tern.

Tanker Project ships also moved fuel to support operations in Thule, Greenland, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. These missions were performed in extreme arctic climates and provided the only fuel that those locations were able to receive during the year.

In September 2005, MV Gus Darnell completed her 20-year time charter and was returned to her owners in Singapore.

Cargo Project

During FY 2005, the Cargo Project office maintained a busy pace of operations. As in the three years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, U.S. force rotations for Operation Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism accounted for the vast majority of ships used, both government-owned and chartered, and the combat cargo delivered. Nineteen Cargo Project ships delivered more than 9 million square feet of cargo for the war effort.

In addition, 14 chartered ships supported exercises around the globe such as Bright Star in Egypt, Cobra Gold in Thailand and the New Horizons series in Central America. See the exercise table in the appendix for more details on exercises.

The Cargo Project office also participated in federal relief efforts for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Four commercial cruise ships were time-chartered for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house relief workers and victims of the hurricanes on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Civilian mariners from USNS Pollux help medical staff load dialysis machines aboard the ship after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Area hospitals lacked the power and fresh water to operate the machines, and hundreds of patients were taken to the fast sealift ship for their life-saving treatments. Photo by Chief Mate Jan Genemans.

Finally, commercial float-on/float-off ship Mighty Servant 1 was chartered to move the ex-Navy dry dock Resolute from Norfolk, Va., to Seattle, Wash.

Surge Project

The Surge Project fleet includes 11 large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships and eight fast sealift ships, or FSS. All were maintained in a four-day reduced operating status at various U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports. The LMSRs are especially suited for transporting heavy or bulky unit equipment such as tanks, large wheeled vehicles and helicopters.

During mobilization for the continuing global war on terrorism, the MSC surge fleet of LMSRs and FSS delivered 10.8 million square feet of cargo. This was approximately 55 percent of the total dry cargo carried by all MSC government-owned and chartered ships during FY 2005.

During FY 2005, the Surge Project LMSRs delivered more than 4.6 million square feet of cargo in 24 voyages. This averaged 191,770 square feet per ship per voyage. MSC’s eight fast sealift ships, although older than the LMSRs, remain the fastest cargo ships in the world, capable of sailing from the U.S. East Coast to the Persian Gulf in 18 days. Fast sealift ships delivered one million square feet of combat cargo for Operation Iraqi Freedom in FY 2005.

In September 2005, four fast sealift ships berthed in New Orleans played a large roll in the humanitarian relief efforts that followed Hurricane Katrina. Because USNS Pollux did not sortie during the storm, she lent aid to nearby hospitals just hours after the storm. Pollux and the other ships provided meals and respite for emergency responders and fuel to power emergency generators. Pollux also provided the necessary water pressure for life-saving dialysis machines when local water pressure failed.

Ready Reserve Force - 55* (as of Sept. 30, 2005) Break-Bulk Ships – 3 Heavy-Lift Ships – 6 Tankers – 5 Crane Ships – 10 RO/RO Ships - 31 *Two aviation logistics support ships are counted in the Prepositioning Program

Ready Reserve Force

The Ready Reserve Force includes 57 militarily useful ships, including roll-on/roll-off ships, crane ships, break-bulk ships, heavy-lift ships and tankers. All of the roll-on/roll-off ships are maintained in a five-day reduced operating status with nine-person crews aboard. The ships are berthed at ports throughout the U.S. East, Gulf and West Coasts near potential military loading sites.

Twenty-four RRF ships were activated for FY 2005 Operation Iraqi Freedom missions, delivering 5.3 million square feet of combat cargo.

Ready Reserve Force ship MV Cape Trinity off-loaded battle-worn equipment from Poland’s 12th Mechanized Division at the Baltic Sea port of Szczecin, Poland. This was Cape Trinity’s ninth cargo operation supporting Polish troops in Iraq. Photo by Paul Weitenberg.