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MARAD 25-03
Contact: Susan Clark
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Tel.: (202) 366-5807
Two Ready Reserve Force Ships Successful in Readiness Activation Exercise
U.S. Maritime Administrator Capt. William Schubert today
announced that two Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships successfully completed
readiness activation exercises. The two activated ships were the SS Flickertail
State and the SS Cornhusker State, both berthed in Newport News, VA.
Administrator Schubert said, “Readiness exercises such as these keep our ships
in shape to provide the support our armed forces need. Forty ships of the RRF
provided sealift for the Iraqi conflict, and they had an operational reliability
record of 98 percent. Success like that comes with practice.”
Turbo Activations, sponsored and monitored by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the
U.S. Transportation Command, are made without notice. During an exercise, RRF
ships are directed to shift from a reduced operating status to a fully crewed
status, with the quarters made habitable and cargo gear ready, within four or
five days. Activations are often followed immediately by a sea trial.
The SS Flickertail State and the SS Cornhusker State were successfully prepared
for delivery to the Military Sealift Command well within their readiness time
frames. They were supposed to be ready in five days; they were ready in 3 days,
23 hours and 50 minutes. RRF ships are managed by commercial companies;
Interocean Ugland Management Corporation, of Voorhees, New Jersey manages both
ships. The two ships are auxiliary craneships used to carry cargo. In
addition, they can be used to load and unload other ships anywhere in the world
and are particularly useful when port facilities have been damaged.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration maintains the
RRF, which is a fleet of 68 militarily useful ships. This fleet, located
throughout the country, is maintained in a reserve status in the event that the
Department of Defense needs these ships to support the rapid, massive movement
of military supplies and troops for a military exercise or large-scale
conflict. All RRF ships are crewed by civilian merchant mariners; officers for
both ships are members of the American Maritime Officers (AMO), and unlicensed
mariners are from Seafarers International Union (SIU).
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