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Richard E Byrd News

14 Jun 2017

US Navy: Bigger is Better, but at What Cost?

U.S. Navy forces and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force routinely train together to improve interoperability and readiness to provide stability and security for the Indo-Asia Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Z.A. Landers)

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

24 Aug 2016

US Navy Ships Conduct Astern Replenishment-at-sea

Sailors man the rails of Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Pioneer (MCM 9) as the ship leaves a Commander, U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo pier. Avenger-class ships are designed as mine sweepers/hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. (U.S. Navy Photo by Kristopher S. Haley)

“While replenishments-at-sea are routine, astern refueling is unique and requires precise navigation and coordination,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Ileto, fleet replenishment scheduler for Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific. An astern replenishment-at-sea was conducted by Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship Pioneer and Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4) in waters south of Japan, August 24. During normal replenishment evolutions, ships fueled at sea typically connect to each other alongside.

09 May 2016

This Day In Naval History: May 9

USS Ashland (LSD 48) (U.S. Navy photo)

1860 - While off the Isle of Pines (now named Isla de la Juventud) near the south coast of Cuba, the screw gunboat Wyandotte captures the slaver William, which carries 570 Africans. 1926 - Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd and Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett report reaching the North Pole in their heavier-than-air-flight aircraft. Both receive the Medal of Honor for this event. 1942 - USS Wasp (CV 7) launches 47 RAF Spitfires, British carrier Eagle accompanies Wasp and launches 17 additional Spitfires.

27 Oct 2015

North Pole: The Latest Tourist Trap

Dennis Bryant

On August 16, 2015, the geographic North Pole was visited by a Russian surface ship for the one-hundredth time. The Russian nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory) carried 106 tourists from 16 different countries. This was the icebreaker’s seventh cruise to the Pole just this season. Each voyage takes just less than two weeks round trip, and that includes a full day of partying at the top of the world. This is all available for a starting cost of $26,995 per person for a basic two-person cabin with a standard twin bed…

29 Jul 2014

USNS Ship Rescues Nine in Gulf of Oman

'USNS Richard E. Byrd' (T-AKE 4), a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship, rescued 9 crew members from a Yemeni-flagged cargo vessel 'Asaed' that had lost power, was taking in water and was adrift in the Gulf of Oman, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs. The crew from Asaed requested assistance and Byrd was the first ship on scene. The crew of the Yemini vessel abandoned in their ship's lifeboat and maneuvered to the military ship, where they were safely recovered. There are no reports of casualties or injuries to personnel. The Yemeni sailors are being further evaluated by Byrd's medical team. The Navy will coordinate the sailors' transfer ashore. USNS Richard E. Byrd is currently on a scheduled deployment to the U.S.

21 Jun 2013

Contamination Controlled

Rear Adm. T. K. Shannon (left) and Rear Adm. Mark Buzby congratulate each other during a change of command ceremony aboard the USNS Spearhead (JSHV 1). Shannon relieved Buzby as commander, Military Sealift Command.  (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Jesse A. Hyatt)

Rear Admiral Mark “Buz” Buzby, commander of the Military Sealift Command, sat with Maritime Reporter contributing editor Edward Lundquist talked with a week before his retirement aboard USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) at Little Creek, Virginia, on May 10, 2013. The talk centered on a unique event in maritime history. MSC had seven ships in the area east of Japan, responding to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed 19,000 people. One of them was the fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10)…

29 Jun 2012

Clay Maitland Named to Board of Glacier Society

Clay Maitland

Clay Maitland, managing partner of International Registries LLC (which administers the Marshall Islands ship registry), Founding Chairman of  the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), member of the United States Coast Guard Foundation board and former Chairman of the National Maritime Historical Society has been named to the board of The Glacier Society, the non-profit foundation fighting to save the historic icebreaker U.S.S./USCGC Glacier from demolition.

23 Aug 2011

MSC Ship: First USN Ship Visit to Vietnam Port in 38 years

USNS Richard E. Byrd in Vietnam. (Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Anh Ho)

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd left Cam Ranh Bay in southern Vietnam today, marking the end of a historic visit - the first by a U.S. Navy ship to the port in more than three decades. Byrd spent seven days at Cam Ranh Shipyard for routine maintenance and repairs that included underwater hull cleaning, polishing of the ship's propeller, repairing shipboard piping, and overhaul of the salt water cooling system that keeps the ship's engines cool and runs the air conditioning. Cam Ranh Bay is 180 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly called Saigon.

12 Apr 2011

U.S. Navy Photo: Replenishment at Sea

In this photo, an SA-330 Puma helicopter lifts a pallet of supplies from the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4) during a replenishment at sea with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Ronald Reagan is operating in the western Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Shawn J. Stewart/Released)

18 Oct 2009

MSC ships Deliver Humanitarian Relief to Indonesia

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl delivered urgently needed supplies, equipment and fuel off the coast of Indonesia Oct. 10 - 14, in response to the deadly earthquakes that struck the region Sept. 30. At the request of the government of Indonesia and the U.S. Department of State, the Navy - including MSC - joined other branches of the U.S. military, international relief organizations and Indonesia's military to deliver food, fresh water and medical supplies to remote mountain villages. The U.S. Air Force also established a field hospital which treated more than 2,000 patients.

18 Aug 2009

Eye on the Navy

(Aug. 14, 2009) The Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4), center, the Royal Australian Navy heavy landing craft HMAS Betano (L 133) and the heavy landing craft HMAS Wewak (L 130) transit from Malaita to Guadalcanal while underway in the Solomon Islands during Pacific Partnership 2009. Pacific Partnership is a humanitarian assistance mission in the U.S. Pacific Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Valcarcel/Released)

26 Jun 2009

USNS Amelia Earhart's Honors Ship's Namesake

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart paused its maiden MSC mission to pay respect to the ship's namesake at the site where the famed aviator disappeared July 2, 1937. As the sun began to set over Howland Island in the Central Pacific Ocean, the ship's crew took a quiet moment to hold a wreath laying ceremony in the area where Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan are believed to have perished during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. "Despite all of her accomplishments, Amelia Earhart was known as a very private person," said Capt.

25 Jul 2008

New Ship Class Begins Logistics Operations in 7th Fleet

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd entered the waters of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, marking the first Lewis and Clark-class multi-product combat logistics support ship in service to the 52 million-square-mile region. Byrd replaces MSC combat stores ship USNS Niagara Falls, which has been forward deployed supporting 7th Fleet since 1994. Though the entry into the fleet’s territorial waters was unceremonious, it signals a significant change for Logistics Group Western Pacific, also know as Commander Task Force 73, which will operationally control the ship while in theater. The 689-ft.-long underway replenishment vessel…

09 Jan 2008

MSC Accepts USNS Richard E. Byrd

Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of dry/cargo ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd in San Diego. The ship was built by General Dynamics NASSCO. Byrd, designated T-AKE 4, is the fourth in the Lewis and Clark-class of underway replenishment ships, which deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups, allowing them to stay at sea for extended periods of time. The T-AKEs will replace some of these aging, single-mission ships such as Kilauea-class ammunition ships and Mars- and Sirius-class combat stores ships that are nearing the end of their service lives.

15 Nov 2007

USNS Richard E. Byrd Delivered

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), delivered USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4) to the U.S. Navy. The ship is the third T-AKE-class ship delivered by the San Diego shipyard in 2007, the fourth overall. USNS Richard E. Byrd is the fourth in an expected class of 14 dry cargo-ammunition ships for the Navy. Construction of the 689-foot-long ship began in February 2006. NASSCO has incorporated international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features into the T-AKE class ships, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system, to minimize operating costs during their projected 40-year service life.

05 Nov 2007

General Dynamics NASSCO Starts Construction of Seventh T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), recently laid the keel for the seventh dry cargo-ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program and started construction of the eighth ship this week. Both ships will be delivered to the Navy in 2009. The keel of T-AKE 7 was laid on November 2, while construction of T-AKE 8 began on October 31. Recently, NASSCO launched USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) and successfully completed sea trials for USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4). Since June 2006, NASSCO has delivered three T-AKE ships to the Navy, and will soon deliver the Richard E. Byrd. The shipyard has contracts to build the first nine ships of the T-AKE class and recently reached an agreement to terms for ships 10 through 14.

17 May 2007

General Dynamics NASSCO Starts Construction of Seventh T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics announced the start of construction on the seventh dry cargo-ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2009. Since June 2006, NASSCO has delivered USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1) and USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2) to the Navy. The third ship of the class, USNS Alan Shepard, and the recently-launched USNS Richard E. Byrd will also be delivered to the Navy by the end of 2007. The T-AKE class is expected to include 11 ships for the Military Sealift Command fleet.

15 May 2007

Navy to Christen USNS Richard E. Byrd

The Navy will christen the USNS Richard E. Byrd on May 15. The launching ceremony for the newest ship in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships will be held at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego. The ship honors Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957), an explorer famous for his Antarctic expeditions and for leading the first expedition to fly over the North Pole. Like the legendary explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, for whom the first ship of the class was named, Byrd bravely volunteered to explore one of the most remote and harshest places on earth. Due to his unquenchable thirst for exploration, he provided substantial contributions to the world's understanding of the Antarctic. Following his graduation from the U.S.

08 Dec 2006

NASSCO Starts Construction of Sixth T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCOannounced the start of construction on the sixth dry cargo-ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the fourth quarter of 2008. The lead ship of the class, USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), was delivered to the Navy last June. The second ship, USNS Sacagawea, will go to sea for Builder's Trials on December 14 and will be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2007. The third ship, USNS Alan Shepard, was launched on December 6, and is scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2007. The fourth and fifth T-AKE ships, currently under construction, are the Richard E. Byrd and Robert E. Peary, respectively.

31 Jul 2006

NASSCO Lays Keel of T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCO held a keel-laying ceremony for the fourth ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program. The ship is named USNS Richard E. Byrd in honor of the U.S. Navy admiral who explored the South Pole and Antarctica. It will be part of the Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo-ammunition ships. Debbie Hamilton, the wife of Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton II, the Navy’s Program Executive Officer for Ships, was the honoree for the event and welded her initials into the keel. The Richard E. Byrd is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the fourth quarter of 2007. At the ceremony, Rear Adm. Hamilton announced Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter’s decision to name T-AKE 4 after the famed South Pole explorer and to name the fifth ship of the class the USNS Robert E. Peary.