MARAD Activates Reserve Force Ships
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has activated 13 Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships on January 24 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The activations follow orders received from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The recently-activated ships join 19 others already activated to support Operation Enduring Freedom. These, combined with four others on long-term assignment, bring the total of activated MARAD RRF ships to 36. For more than 25 years, MARAD’s RRF has augmented the Military Sealift Command’s 125-ship cargo fleet. The ships were used in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and more recently in Haiti, Somalia, Croatia, Bosnia, and for humanitarian support as part of Hurricane "Mitch" relief in Central America.
Marad Activates More RRF Ships
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) today activated two more Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The activations follow orders received from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The two ships, the CAPE LOBOS and the CAPE LAMBERT, are part of the James River Reserve Fleet anchored near Fort Eustis, VA. “The maritime community has served America with great distinction during every major crisis in our Nation’s history, and the mariners who crew the ships are the cornerstone of this effort,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. The recently-activated ships join 32 others already activated to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
All "Eyes" On The Engines
According to a leading classification society, the "torque limiting device" requirement for a single diesel engine installation can be waived when a coupling monitoring device is installed. The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) employs Vulkan Monitoring Devices on Ready Reserve Force ships to enable a crew to recognize changes in a ship's propulsion system that are not identified by standard alarm systems. The Ready Reserve Force (RRF) was established in 1976 and provides prompt sealift support for rapid deployment of U.S. military Forces for peacekeeping or humanitarian missions. Early in the Bosnian conflict, the U.S. was called upon to supply sealift capability to move NATO vehicles, ammunition and support equipment to Croatia.
