Category Archives: Merchant Marine

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: March 23, 2020

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: March 23, 2020

USNI News Graphic

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of March 23, 2020, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship. Read More

Navy Hospital Ship Mercy Expected to Head to Seattle as Part of Pentagon Response to Coronavirus

Navy Hospital Ship Mercy Expected to Head to Seattle as Part of Pentagon Response to Coronavirus

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) moors to the pier at Naval Base San Diego upon returning from Pacific Partnership 2018. US Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) was a hub of activity Thursday, as it took on a crew of civilian mariners and supplies ahead of deploying to assist West Coast civilian medical facilities hammered by COVID-19 cases. Read More

Wittman Pushing Navy to Buy Used Cargo Ships

Wittman Pushing Navy to Buy Used Cargo Ships

A fleet of military vehicles wait pier side in preparation of Exercise Saber Strike 16 in Riga, Latvia, June 4, 2016. The vehicles were transported by a British Roll-On, Roll-Off ship from Norway for the exercise. US Marine Corps photo.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) wants to know why the U.S. military’s surge sealift capability has yet to augment its aging fleet’s capabilities with used cargo ships. Read More

MARAD: National Military Sealift Strategy Expected Soon

MARAD: National Military Sealift Strategy Expected Soon

The Military Sealift Command maritime prepositioning ship USNS Sgt. William R. Button (T-AK 3012) is moored off the coast of Latvia for the Saber Strike 17 Maritime Prepositioning Force offload operations on May, 25, 2017. US Navy photo.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A National Maritime Strategy, expected to address the various deficiencies facing the nation’s sealift capacity, is finished and awaiting final approval, a top sealift official said last week.

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Report: U.S. Sealift Lacks Personnel, Hulls, National Strategy

Report: U.S. Sealift Lacks Personnel, Hulls, National Strategy

A UH-60 Black Hawk is raised from Military Sealift Command’s voyage-charter, general-purpose, heavy-lift vessel MV Ocean Grand at the pier in Sattahip, Thailand, Aug. 17, during an offload of equipment that will be used during exercise Hanuman Guardian 2018. 

An aging and inactive government fleet dependent on a shrinking pool of merchant mariners to get underway is how a new report describes the U.S. military’s strategic sealift capability.

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Report: U.S. Shoulders Steep Price to Protect Merchant Ships in Strait Of Hormuz

Report: U.S. Shoulders Steep Price to Protect Merchant Ships in Strait Of Hormuz

USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) transits the Strait of Hormuz on May 7, 2019. US Navy Photo

The Navy pays a steep price keeping an aircraft carrier with escorts on station to deter attacks on oil tanker traffic operating in and around the Persian Gulf as part of the United States’ “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, according to a new report. The ongoing carrier operations in the region are not only pricey for the U.S. Navy but also creates the potential to disrupt energy markets if a confrontation escalates. Read More

TRANSCOM Stress Test Practiced Cargo Delivery Through Mine- and Sub-Filled Waters

TRANSCOM Stress Test Practiced Cargo Delivery Through Mine- and Sub-Filled Waters

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NORFOLK (Sept. 21, 2019) Military Sealift Command large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) vessel USNS Benavidez (T-AKR 306), departs Lambert’s Point Shipyard alongside USNS Mendonca (T-AKR 303) for Turbo Activation. Navy photo

Running dark and nearly silent, last month a convoy of Military Sealift Command ships practiced delivering people and gear to the fight as part of a large U.S. Transportation Command surge sealift capability stress test.

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TRANSCOM Running Largest Ready Reserve Force Stress Test Since 2003

TRANSCOM Running Largest Ready Reserve Force Stress Test Since 2003

RRF vessel SS Cornhusker State off the coast of Haiti, February 2010. MARAD Photo

This post was updated to properly identify the Ready Reserve Force. An earlier version included an incorrect title of the force.

THE PENTAGON — U.S. Transportation Command started the largest turbo activation of the Ready Reserve Force since 2003 to stress-test the military’s ability to quickly deploy the cargo ships required for a massive troop movement.

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