Title: Source of Shipping for the Merchant Marine in Peacetime and National Emergency
1Source of Shipping for the Merchant Marine in
Peacetime and National Emergency
2Objectives
- Understand the major elements of the peacetime
Merchant Marine organization, including the
Military Sealift Command - Explain how the federal government can expand the
shipping available for its needs in time of war
or national emergency - Understand the usefulness of different types of
merchant ships for military operations and the
problems that each type poses for adaptation to
military uses.
3US Merchant Marine Organization
- Privately-owned fleet
- US Flag
- Flag of Convenience(aka Effective US Control,
EUSC) - Government-owned fleet
- USTRANSCOM
- Military Traffic Management Command
- Military Sealift Command
4USTRANSCOM
- Unified commander of all of Americas global
defense transportation system - Composed of
- Air Forces Air Mobility Command (AMC)
- Armys Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC)
- Navys Military Sealift Command (MSC)
5Military Traffic Management Command
- Provides global surface transportation to meet
national security goals in peace and war - Responsible for surface cargo movement and port
management - In Desert Storm, MTMC managed the movement of 85
of the unit equipment shipped to Saudi Arabia - Operated out of 33 ports worldwide
- Responsible for surface passenger and personal
property programs
6Military Sealift Command
- Permanent force of government-owned,
civilian-manned vessels operated by DOD for
military purposes - Primary mission to support sealift requirements
of all military services in war or national
emergency - Functions
- Contingency sealift for US military operations,
e.g. Persian Gulf War - Plan for emergency expansion of sealift and
government shipping from peacetime to wartime
capacity - Peacetime logistical support of the US military
forces - Operate naval auxiliary vessels
- Provide Defense Department ocean shipping for
non-transportation purposes, e.g. scientific
research support for NASA and Antarctic missions,
etc
7Military Sealift Command
- Civilian-manned command within the Navy
organization comprised of two fleets - Nucleus fleet (110 vessels, government-owned or
bareboat from private owners) is manned by
government employees and is mostly used for
direct support of the Navy fleet - Chartered fleet (100 vessels on voyage or time
charter, manned by the chartering company) is
used to fulfill other shipping needs, e.g.
shipping military cargoes and the household goods
of military families to overseas bases
8Military Sealift Command
- Controls the strategic sealift force, consisting
of preposition ships (private-owned US flag
vessels under long-term contract to MSC), and
fast sealift ships - Preposition Ships-30 ships, strategically
positioned in key ocean areas, making it possible
to deploy on short-notice the vital equipment,
fuel and supplies to initially support military
needs when ever needed - Fast sealift ships - 8 ships maintain by MSC on 4
day readiness status for surge shipping from the
US to the site of a military deployment
9National Defense Reserve Fleet(NDRF)
- Ready Reserve Fleet (RRF)-
- 90 vessels on 5/10/20 day call
- Of 96 ships then in RRF, 79 were used during
Desert Shield/Storm to transport 1/3 of the
equipment and 1/5 of the total dry cargo used - Ships exceeded expected performance, despite many
having been in long lay-ups - Activated ships were tendered to MSC and manned
by merchant sailors - Fastest buildup in history and the largest since
the Vietnam War
10National Defense Reserve Fleet(NDRF)
- 220 more vessels belong, but not assigned to the
RRF - 112 are maintained on long term call for the
possibility of a large long tem war - NDRF ships are located at NDRF anchorages on each
coast - Suisun Bay, CA
- Beaumont, TX
- James Bay, VA
- Some RRF ships are out-ported or berthed at
other ports close to their activation sites to
reduce delays when activated
11Activation Procedures
- How the government gets ships for war/national
emergency - MSC Strategic Sealift Force
- MSC Chartered Fleet
- RRF
- Privately-owned US Flag vessels available under
special voluntary agreements - Privately-owned US Flag merchants obtained
through commercial contract on open market or
requisition - NDRF
- US privately-owned ships registered under flags
of convenience (EUSC) - Allied Flag ships if NATO is involved
- Neutral ships the right of angary
- Prizes
12Right of Angary
- Traditional maritime right, which US government
claims under the Emergency Foreign Vessels
Acquisition Act - Requisition neutral ships in US waters if needed
- Right is maintained in principle, but would be
practiced in rare circumstances due to the
obvious diplomatic difficulties which might ensue - NSA would maintain cognizance of all neutral
ships carry US trade with neutral nations in
order to control imports and exports ensuring the
national priorities of the war effort are being
met
13Break bulk ships
14Merchant Ship Types Used in Military Operations
- Break bulk
- Advantage
- Most useful carriers of dry cargo because they
are self-sustaining - Disadvantages
- No longer commercially viable
- Labor intensive to load/unload
- Mostly available in RRF/NDRF
- Can carry any type of cargo, including outsize
equipment like tanks, artillery pieces
15RO/RO
16Merchant Ship Types Used in Military Operations
- Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO)
- Advantage
- Most easily unloaded pier-side
- Can be unloaded to floating causeway sections at
anchor in light seas for amphibious operations - Disadvantage
- All ships do not have reinforced decks of correct
dimensions to carry large armored vehicles - Military RO/ROs in RRF, commercial in Japanese
flag car-carriers
17LASH
18Merchant Ship Types Used in Military Operations
- Barge Ships (LASH Lighter Aboard Ship and
Seabee Classes) - Advantages
- Extremely useful for early phases of
over-the-shore logistics because they carry their
own lighterage, which can be used to support
later arriving ships - Excellent in carrying outsize cargo
- Can lower barges into the sea with a gantry crane
or elevator, then steam off and reload - Disadvantage
- Being supplanted by container ships in areas with
good road/rail transport - Several are in the RRF
19Container Ships
20Merchant Ship Types Used in Military Operations
- Containerships
- Advantages
- Most commercially viable
- Best for follow-on re-supply effort once a
container port has been secured or a beachhead
port facility has been constructed - Disadvantages
- Less useful for military operations
- Are not self-sustaining
- Cannot carry outsize cargo such as tanks and
artillery pieces without special adaptations - If no container port is available, they require
support of a crane ship to offload containers
21Tankers
22Merchant Ship Types Used in Military Operations
- Tankers
- Small (lt40,000 tons) are excellent for
transporting fuel from port to an amphibious
beach to naval vessels operating at sea for UNREP
or CONSOL - Medium (40-100, 000 tons) are useful for bulk
transport to major shore-side oil depots in
theatre, but are too large and unmaneuverable to
directly support naval and amphibious forces - Large (gt100,000 tons) are too large to enter most
ports and are thus not useful to the military
23Specialized Ships
24Merchant Ship Types Used in Military Operations
- Specialized ships which are converted or built
and maintained exclusively by the Navy or MSC as
needed - Crane ships
- Hospital ships
- Aviation support ships
- Heavy lift ships (aka FLO/FLOs)
25Merchant Ship Types Not Useful in Military
Operations
- Dry bulk ships
- Liquid natural gas tankers (LNGs)
26Standards
- Ships receiving government construction subsidies
must have the following - Watertight compartmentalization
- Speed of 20 knots fully loaded
- Rubber or shock mount protection
- Extra electrical capacity
- Extra distilling capacity
- CBR wash down hose fittings