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MARAD 04-04
Contact: Robyn Boerstling
Friday, January 23, 2004
Tel.: (202) 366-5807
Iraqi Freedom Resupply Ships Load at Port of Wilmington, North Carolina
As the resupply of U.S. troops and equipment in
Iraq gets underway, the U.S. Maritime Administration is providing ships from its
Ready Reserve Force to help in the operation. As many as 24 ships in the fleet
will be called to duty by the Military Sealift Command.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta said, "The Ready Reserve
Force played a critical role in the initial phase of the Iraqi conflict, and
will play an important role in replenishment and resupply. We cannot respond
effectively to overseas emergencies without sealift, and the Ready Reserve Force
and the commercial sector of the American shipping industry provide that
sealift."
The Ready Reserve Force (RRF) is a fleet of ships owned and maintained by
the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration. They are kept "on
call" to provide sealift in time of conflict or national emergency. The RRF
ship Cape Douglas loaded earlier this week at the Port of Wilmington, and the
Cape Decision, loading now, are heading to the U.S. Central Command area of
operations with heavy equipment and supplies.
Both ships are Roll-on/Roll-off cargo ships, designed to carry large
numbers of vehicles. Each ship will carry about 160-thousand square feet of
cargo; the equivalent of three-and-a-half football fields. Sealift is vitally
important in any large overseas military operation. In Operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, nearly 85 percent of the cargo needed has traveled on
ships. It would take 130 trips by a C-17 aircraft to take the same amount of
cargo as one trip on one of the "Cape D's".
Ships of the Ready Reserve Force are crewed by U.S. merchant mariners,
civilians who volunteer for these missions. Some crew members of the Cape
Douglas and the Cape Decision served in the initial phase of the Iraqi conflict,
and were awarded Merchant Marine Expeditionary medals on their return. So far,
22 percent of the cargo carried overseas for the Iraqi conflict has been carried
on ships of the Ready Reserve Force.
The Port of Wilmington is one of 14 strategic commercial ports designated
by the Department of Defense. Strategic ports must meet high standards of
efficiency, flexibility, and security. The Maritime Administration assists
ports in acquiring and maintaining the strategic commercial port designation by
training deployment stakeholders and managing port assets with a coordination
network. Maritime Administrator Captain William G. Schubert said, "A strategic
port must be able to move large amounts of military cargo efficiently and
seamlessly without any disruption to commercial traffic. The Port of Wilmington
has accomplished just that."
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