Tag Archives: military sealift command

‘We're Ignoring the Problem’ of Stressed U.S. Maritime Infrastructure, Says MSC Commander

‘We’re Ignoring the Problem’ of Stressed U.S. Maritime Infrastructure, Says MSC Commander

Military Sealift Command Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) sails alongside the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD-24) prior to a replenishment-at-sea in the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 7, 2022. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – The American defense maritime industrial base has atrophied to a point where the United States builds less than 1 percent of the world’s ocean-going fleets and has less than 4 percent of the world’s licensed mariners while China establishes itself as a maritime nation, Military Sealift Command’s top officer said Tuesday. Read More

TRANSCOM Commander: American Shipyards Need Revitalization to Help Modernize Military Sealift Command

TRANSCOM Commander: American Shipyards Need Revitalization to Help Modernize Military Sealift Command

PHILIPPINE SEA (Jan. 20, 2022) An AS332 Super Puma transports cargo from the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9) onto the flight deck of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during a replenishment-at-sea. U.S. Navy Photo

Buying nine used cargo ships is a first step toward the much needed modernization of Military Sealift Command’s fleet, but the sealift enterprise requires the revitalization of American shipbuilding and yard maintenance to experience long-term benefits, the top general leading U.S. Transportation Command said Wednesday. Read More

COVID-19 Pandemic Shows Mariners Are Essential Workers, Experts Say

COVID-19 Pandemic Shows Mariners Are Essential Workers, Experts Say

Daniel Murphy, a deck cadet with United States Merchants Marine, supervises as cargo is transported into the Green Cove with equipment being sent to the Distribution Management Office Yermo, Calif., on July 6 at Naha Port in Okinawa, Japan. MSC Photo

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted why mariners – from ferry crews to masters of Triple E-class container ships – are “essential workers,” while questioning future shipbuilding and threatening the survival of smaller shipping companies, two experts in maritime commerce told USNI News. Read More

Civilian Mariners File Grievance Over Military Sealift Command COVID-19 Restrictions

Civilian Mariners File Grievance Over Military Sealift Command COVID-19 Restrictions

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.

Civilian mariners are frustrated with stay-on-ship measures put in place to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks and their unions have filed a formal grievance with Military Sealift Command, even as MSC has been touting the extreme care it’s taken to avoid getting its employees sick or spreading the illness to warships they resupply at sea. Read More

Early ‘Aggressive’ Military Sealift Command COVID Mitigations Meant to Prevent Spread During Resupply

Early ‘Aggressive’ Military Sealift Command COVID Mitigations Meant to Prevent Spread During Resupply

William Courtney, the prospective chief mate aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), communicates with his crew during a supplies onload while the ship is moored in New York in support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts. US Navy photo.

This post has been corrected to state there have been cases of COVID-19 among civilian mariners on Military Sealift Command ships. Two cases emerged on oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO-195) between the Friday interview and Wednesday article publication. That ship is in Boston Ship Repair for maintenance. Two CIVMARS were infected on hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) early in its New York mission and have since recovered, but that was not disclosed by MSC during the interview. A fifth CIVMAR is known to have contracted the disease while on leave and has also recovered.

The Military Sealift Command is keeping supplies moving uninterrupted throughout the globally operating Navy fleet and has done so with zero COVID-19 infections among its civilian mariners at sea due to early and aggressive actions, the commander of MSC told USNI News. Read More

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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DoD IG: Inaccurate Military Surge Sealift Fleet Readiness Reporting Undercuts Operational Plans

DoD IG: Inaccurate Military Surge Sealift Fleet Readiness Reporting Undercuts Operational Plans

SATTAHIP, Thailand—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. (Courtesy photo/Released)

Inaccurate surge sealift fleet readiness reporting misled geographic combatant commanders about their ability to quickly receive equipment resupplies, according to a Department of Defense Inspector General’s report. Read More