Transcom Asks Lawmakers for ‘up to’ 10 new (to MSC) vessels
NORFOLK, Va. (Apr. 11, 2022) Military Sealift Command in March chartered tugboat Signet Warhorse I to tow Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off (LSMR) ship USNS Shughart (T-AKR 295) from Newport News Marine Terminal to Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas, where the vessel will permanently join MARAD’s Ready Reserve Force (RRF).
To bolster America’s ancient and shrinking Ready Reserve Force merchant marine fleet, U.S. Transportation Command wants to buy as many as 10 second-hand shipping vessels from the commercial market.
The government-owned RRF fleet is made up of commercial vessels crewed by civilian mariners and it is ageing. The median age of the 46 roll-on/roll-off ships in the fleet is 47 years.
“We need to both build it here, and we actually need to buy used,” Air Force Gen. Randall Reed, Transcom’s commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday while testifying on Capitol Hill.
“These ships are really, really old,” Reed said. “The reliability of them [is] sometimes in question because of that. I take my hat off to the crews that are actually on them to keep them warm. But to give an idea of the state of the ships, some of these ships are still run by steam.”