Crowley Awarded MSC Contract for ROCON Fleet
Crowley Maritime Corp.’s government services group has been awarded a $130 million technical management contract for five U.S. government-owned, Military Sealift Command (MSC) Roll-On/Roll-Off and container ships (ROCON). The contract will see Crowley provide full turnkey operation and management of the fleet, including crewing and scheduled/unscheduled repair and drydocking services initially for one year with four, additional one-year options. The turnover phase for the ships began on October 1. Of the five ships, two will remain berthed in Jacksonville and three will be homeported in Norfolk – all within the service area of Crowley’s local offices. This contract will have a positive economic impact through the creation of several new jobs in both Jacksonville and Norfolk.
MSC's Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One Disestablished
Military Sealift Command's Maritime Prepositioning Ship (MPS) Squadron One was officially disestablished Sept. 28. USNS 2ND LT John P. Bobo (T-AK 3008) made a final port visit to Rota, Spain in late September, marking the official disestablishment of the 28-year-old squadron. The other ships and personnel assigned to MPS Squadron One returned to the United States earlier this year, where they currently maintain a reduced operating status. MPS Squadron One was one of three squadrons belonging to MSC's Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF)…
Keystone Wins MSC Deal
Keystone Prepositioning Services, Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is being awarded an $8,991,957 firm-fixed-price contract for the operation and maintenance of three of Military Sealift Command's government-owned Maritime Prepositioning Force ships:USNS Sgt. Matej Kocak, USNS Pfc. Eugene A. Obregon, and USNS Maj. Stephen W. Pless. The ships will continue to support at-sea prepositioning of equipment and supplies and surge-sealift requirements for the Department of Defense.This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $47,403,888. The contract includes four one-year option periods and an annual award fee of up to $125,000 per ship.
MPS Squadron One Welcomes New Commander
Military Sealift Command Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One changed leadership June 16 when Navy Capt. Ricks W. Polk relieved Navy Capt. Michael F. Ott in a ceremony aboard squadron flagship USNS 2ND LT John P. Bobo. The ceremony took place while Bobo was underway in the Baltic Sea near the coast of Estonia. MPS Squadron One is a forward-deployed squadron of four government-owned ships: Bobo, USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon, USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat and USNS Sisler. The squadron prepositions cargo and supplies at sea in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, enabling rapid delivery to shore where needed. The commander of MPS Squadron One has tactical command and control of all four ships in the squadron and is embarked aboard Bobo.
A City Within A Shipyard
For more than 100 years Newport News Shipbuilding has held the distinction as one of the largest shipyards in the Western Hemisphere. The 550-acre facility, which is situated on a two-mile stretch along the James River in Newport News, Va., is best described as "a city within a shipyard," fully equipped to handle most any naval or commercial job, both newbuild and repair. MR/EN recently visited the yard to witness first hand how the world-famous yard utilizes more than a century of know how and an unmatched wealth of technical capability to get ailing ships — from "shave and haircuts" to complicated reconstructions — in and out, on time and on budget.
