United States military ship category
PFC William B. Baugh docked at
Port Canaveral , Florida, in 2008
USNS PFC Dewayne T. Williams , USNS Dahl , and USNS Maj. Stephen W. Pless anchored off the coast of
Saipan in June 2011
Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States
Military Sealift Command 's (MSC) prepositioning program. There are currently 17
[1]
[2] ships in the program, strategically positioned around the world to support the
Army ,
Navy ,
Air Force ,
Marine Corps and
Defense Logistics Agency . Most are named after
Medal of Honor
recipients from the service they support.
[2]
[3]
[4] The ships are assigned to two
[5] Military Prepositioning Ship (MPS)
squadrons
[6] located in the
Indian Ocean at
Diego Garcia and in the
Western Pacific Ocean at
Guam and
Saipan .
The MPS ships in each squadron have sufficient equipment, supplies and ammunition to support a
Marine Air-Ground Task Force for 30 days. The MPS ships are self-sustaining, with
cranes to unload at sea or pierside. MSC
chartered the first two ship classes in the MPS role (the Corporal Louis J. Hauge Jr. and Sergeant Matej Kocak classes) from
civilian
shipping lines and converted them. Later ships were purpose-built.
Ships
Sergeant Matej Kocak class
USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon
The Sergeant Matej Kocak class, the second class of MPS ships chartered by MSC, also gained 157 feet (48 m) amidships and a
helicopter deck after conversion. These ships, delivered to MSC in the mid-1980s, built at
Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. ,
Chester, Pennsylvania , and converted at
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company ,
San Diego . They were previously owned by
Waterman Steamship Corporation but recently sold to MSC and now operated by
Keystone Shipping Company . They were all part of the
Waterman Line C7-S-133a Series .
Builder:
Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. , Chester, PA;
General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division , Quincy, Massachusetts
Converted:
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company , San Diego, California
Power Plant: 2 boilers; 2 GE turbines; 30,000 hp (22,371 kW); 1 shaft
Length: 821.0 ft (250.2 m)
Beam: 105.6 ft (32.2 m)
Displacement: 48,754 tons (49,536 metric tons) full load
Crew: 34 civilians, 10 technicians
Cargo capacity: Containers, 532;
ro-ro , 152,236 sq ft (14,143 m2 ); JP-5 barrels, 20,290; DF-2 barrels, 12,355;
Mogas barrels, 3,717; stable water, 2,189; cranes, two twin 50-ton and one 30-ton gantry
Helicopters: platform only
Speed: 20
knots (37 km/h)
Ships
2nd Lieutenant John P. Bobo class
The 2nd Lieutenant John P. Bobo -class ships are new construction ships delivered to MSC in the mid-1980s from
General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division ,
Quincy, Massachusetts They were owned by
American Overseas Marine (AMSEA) but have been recently sold to MSC and are now operated by Crowley Technical Management.
Builders:
General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division , Quincy, Massachusetts
Power Plant: 2
Stork-Werkspoor 16TM410 diesels; 27,000 hp (20,134 kW) sustained; 1 Omnithruster JT1000 bow thruster, 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Length: 675.2 ft (205.8 m)
Beam: 105.5 ft (32.2 m)
Displacement: 44,330 tons (45,041 metric tons) full load
Cargo capacity: Containers, 530; ro-ro, 152,185 sq ft (14,138 m2 ); JP-5 barrels, 20,776; DF-2 barrels, 13,334; Mogas barrels, 4,880; stable water, 2,357; cranes, one single and two twin 39-ton
Helicopters: platform only
Speed: 17.7 knots (33 km/h)
Crew: 38 civilians, 10 technicians
Capt Steven L. Bennett class
Length: 687 ft 0 in (209.4 m)
Beam: 100 ft 0 in (30.5 m)
Draft: 38 ft 1 in (11.6 m)
Displacement: 52,878 long tons (53,727 t)
Speed: 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h)
Civilian: 24 contract mariners
Maj. Bernard F. Fisher class
Length: 652 ft (199 m)
Beam: 105 ft (32 m)
Draft: 34 ft (10 m)
Displacement: 48,000 long tons (48,770 t)
Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h)
Civilian: 24 contract mariners
1st Lt. Harry L. Martin class
Length: 754 ft 0 in (229.8 m)
Beam: 105 ft 10 in (32.3 m)
Draft: 35 ft 11 in (10.9 m)
Displacement: 51,531 long tons (52,358 t)
Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h)
Civilian: 25 contract mariners
LCPL Roy M. Wheat class
Length: 863 ft 2 in (263.1 m)
Beam: 98 ft 5 in (30.0 m)
Draft: 35 ft 0 in (10.7 m)
Displacement: 50,570 long tons (51,381 t)
Speed: 20.5 knots (38 km/h)
Civilian: 29 contract mariners
LTC John U. D. Page class
Length: 949.8 ft (289.5 m)
Beam: 105.9 ft (32.3 m)
Draft: 35.0 ft (10.7 m)
Displacement: 74,500 long tons (75,695 t)
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h)
Civilian: 20 contract mariners
High-speed vessels
HSV 2 class
Length: 331 ft 4 in (101.0 m)
Beam: 87 ft 5 in (26.6 m)
Draft: 11 ft 0 in (3.4 m)
Displacement: 1,463.6 short tons (1,328 t)
Speed: 35 knots (65 km/h)
Civilian: 17 contract mariners
Military: as required by mission
Large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ships
Watson class
The
Watson class of
LMSR built at
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in
San Diego
Length: 950 ft (290 m)
Beam: 106 ft (32 m)
Draft: 34 ft (10 m)
Displacement: 62,644 long tons (63,649 t)
Power Plant: 2 GE Marine LM 2500
gas turbines ; 64,000 hp (47,725 kW); 2 shafts,
cp props
Speed: 24 knots (44 km/h)
Civilian: 30 contract mariners
Military: 5
Ships
Tankers
Length: 615 ft (187 m)
Beam: 90 ft (27 m)
Draft: 36 ft (11 m)
Displacement: 39,624 long tons (40,260 t)
Speed: 16.0 knots (30 km/h)
Civilian: 24 contract mariners
Offshore petroleum distribution system
Length: 348.5 ft (106.2 m)
Beam: 70 ft (21.3 m)
Draft: 26.0 ft (7.9 m)
Displacement:
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h)
Civilian: 26 contract mariners
Activated Ready Reserve Force ships
The following are part of the
National Defense Reserve Fleet but have been activated and are pre-positioned.
Modular cargo delivery system ship
Length: 565 ft (172 m)
Beam: 76 ft (23 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9 m)
Displacement: 22,929 long tons (23,297 t)
Speed: 17.0 knots (31 km/h)
Civilian: 38 contract mariners
Wright class
Dedicated to USMC aviation logistics support
Length: 602 ft 0 in (183 m)
Beam: 90 ft 2 in (27 m)
Draft: 32 ft 10 in (10 m)
Displacement: 23,800 long tons (24,182 t)
Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h)
Civilian: 41 contract mariners
Ships
Former ships
Buffalo Soldier class
Length: 670 ft 0 in (204.2 m)
Beam: 87 ft 0 in (26.5 m)
Draft: 34 ft 6 in (10.5 m)
Displacement: 26,378 long tons (26,801 t)
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h)
Civilian: 21 contract mariners
Ships
Corporal Louis J. Hauge Jr. class
Named for
Medal of Honor recipient
Louis J. Hauge Jr. USMC, the Corporal Louis J. Hauge Jr. class is the original class of MPS ships chartered by Military Sealift Command. The five ships are
Maersk Line ships converted by
Bethlehem Steel . During conversion, the ships gained an additional 157 feet (48 m) amidships and a helicopter landing pad, among other things. They have since been returned to Maersk for commercial use and are no longer part of the MPS program.
Builder:
Odense Staalskibsvaerft A/S , Lindo
Power Plant: 1 Sulzer 7RND76M diesel; 16,800 hp (12,528 kW); 1 shaft; bow thruster
Length: 755 ft (230 m)
Beam: 90 ft (27 m)
Displacement: 46,552 long tons (47,299 t) full load
Speed: 17.5 knots (32 km/h)
Ships
Crew: 32 civilians, 10 technicians
See also
Further reading
References