Support Ship News

Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the Navy’s fleet and our military forces around the world?When we  look at the history of contested logistics in World War II…

The wall climbing robot for steel structures - developed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, and MOL Ship Management  to support ship inspection and maintenance - has completed a demonstration test and earned the Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) Innovation Endorsement.The Innovation Endorsement is ClassNK's third-party certification program. It certifies and supports initiatives that contribute to the sustainable evolution of maritime and offshore businesses.The robot…

Damen Shipyards Group has unveiled a new ship design based on modern defense and security requirements. The Multi-Purpose Support Ship (MPSS) has been co-developed with the Portuguese Navy, the vessel’s launching customer. It is a solution for the increasing use of drone technology in combat and surveillance. In addition to its primary function, the MPSS is designed to fulfil a wide range of additional tasks, including auxiliary roles.Damen has begun construction of the first vessel of this new design.

U.K. based ship repair and marine services form Dales Marine Services announced it has acquired 20 new welding generators from MB Plant, Peterhead.The newly acquired welding generators are replacements for older machines and will be utilized on-site at Dales Marine facilities including Aberdeen, Leith, Greenock and Troon, as well as remotely at clients' sites, as required.Dales Marine said its main facilities have been experiencing a steady increase in the number of vessels coming to their docks for scheduled maintenance and repairs…

Seaspan Shipyards hosted a ceremonial keel laying event for the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) future HMCS Preserver.Scheduled for delivery in 2027, the vessel is the second of two Joint Support Ships being built by Seaspan as part of Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Through incorporating lessons learned on the design and construction of JSS1, the second Joint Support Ship is tracking ahead of schedule and efficiencies are seen throughout the build process – from advancements in design and supply chain streamlining…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen has delivered a virtual copy of the under-construction Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder, to a branch of the Dutch Ministry of Defense, so the crews can get to know the ship even before it's been delivered to the Royal Netherlands Navy."The new Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder has not yet been delivered, but the crew can already get to know the ship thanks to an extensive Virtual Reality package. [... ] Damen Naval has delivered a virtual copy of the ship to the Materieel & IT Command (COMMIT).

UK-based Submarine Manufacturing and Products (SMP) will provide its new submarine rescue system (SRS) to the Indonesian Navy.The SRS will be hosted on a mothership designed by independent design and engineering consultancy Houlder and delivered by its Indonesian strategic partner, BTI Defence.The three-year build contract will include the UK design and manufacture of the SRS, centered around SMP's new SRV-F Mk3 rescue submersible. The custom build of the mothership will take place in region…

The launch of the bow section of the second logistic support unit LSS (Logistic Support Ship) ordered from Fincantieri by Chantiers de l'Atlantique under the FLOTLOG ("Flotte logistique") program took place at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard.The FLOTLOG program envisages the construction of four Logistic Support Vessels (LSS) for the French Navy by the temporary consortium formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group under the French-Italian LSS program led by OCCAR (Organization for the joint armaments cooperation) on behalf of DGA…

Canadian safety officials on Friday opened an investigation into the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard while diving to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, raising questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.A debris field from the submersible Titan was found at the bottom of the North Atlantic on Thursday by a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian search vessel, ending an intense five-day international rescue effort.Fragments of Titan…

The five people aboard a missing submersible are thought to be dead, according to the company that owns the vessel, bringing a grim end on Thursday to the massive search for the vessel that was lost during a voyage to the Titanic."These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans," OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families…

The desperate search for a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic entered a critical juncture on Thursday when air was expected to run out for the five people aboard, but officials vowed to continue scouring the remote North Atlantic.A remotely operated vehicle deployed from a Canadian vessel to the ocean floor discovered a "debris field" near the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday morning on Twitter, adding that experts were "evaluating the information."Another…

Operations to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast will soon begin after a technical support ship arrived on site on Tuesday, the United Nations said.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.The Ndeavor tanker, with a technical team from Boskalis/SMIT, is in place at the Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen's Ras Isa, the U.N.

A boat carrying about 500 migrants, including a newborn baby and pregnant women, has disappeared in the central Mediterranean, two charities said on Friday. Alarm Phone, a group that picks up calls from migrant vessels in distress, said it lost contact with the boat on Wednesday morning. At the time, the boat was adrift, with no working engine, in high seas about 320 km (200 miles) north of the Libyan port of Benghazi and more than 400 km away from Malta or Italy's southern island of Sicily.

Manama, Bahrain -- Advancing maritime domain awareness in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) is a challenging task. Yet keeping the sea lanes open is critical for the region, for the U.S. and the world.U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are all headquartered here in Bahrain, under the command of Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. U.S. Fifth Fleet oversees the operations for all U.S. naval forces in the Middle East.

Russia's armed forces said on Monday they had docked a large, beachable landing support ship, the Orsk, in the occupied Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, 70 km (45 miles) southwest of the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.As part of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" launched almost a month ago, Russian forces have seized most of the Ukrainian coast along the Sea of Azov, an appendage of the Black Sea, except for Mariupol, which has refused to surrender."It is hard to overestimate the possibilities of using this port…

Russia said on Thursday the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged and its crew evacuated following an explosion that a Ukrainian official said was the result of a missile strike.Russia's defence ministry said a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser caused ammunition to blow up, Interfax news agency reported.It did not say what caused the fire but Maksym Marchenko, the Ukrainian governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odesa, said the Moskva had been hit…

North Charleston, S.C. repair yard Detyens Shipyards Inc. has been awarded the contract for the regular overhaul and dry-docking on the fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6).The $22,670,778 firm-fixed-price contract includes seven options, which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $24,462,335.The contract, awarded by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), was competitively procured with proposals solicited via beta.sam.gov. Detyens was one of three bidders for the contract.The 120-calendar day shipyard availability is expected to be completed by January 19…

The U.S. Navy said it thwarted an Iranian attempt to capture one if its unmanned surface vessels (USV) in the Arabian Gulf.While transiting international waters around 11 p.m. (local time), Aug. 29, U.S. 5th Fleet observed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) support ship Shahid Baziar towing a Saildrone Explorer USV in an attempt to detain it. U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) was operating nearby and immediately responded. U.S. 5th Fleet also launched an MH-60S Sea Hawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, based in Bahrain.The actions taken by U.S.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. held a christening and launch ceremony for the Oshima Maru, a training ship built for National Institute of Technology (Kosen), Oshima College. The ceremony took place at the Enoura Plant at MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture.Delivery of the ship is scheduled for March 2023, following completion of interior work and sea trials. The new ship is designed to provide students with practical training in ocean navigation…

Ukraine said on Thursday it had destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, at the Russian-occupied port of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov.Video footage, which Reuters was able to confirm was filmed from inside Berdiansk, showed a column of smoke rising from a blaze at a dock, and the flash of an explosion.Two vessels, one of which appeared to have been damaged, were seen in the footage sailing out of the dock as a third ship burned.Reuters could not confirm if it was the Orsk on fire in the film.

Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship namesake, USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) held a decommissioning ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va. on July 22 before its inactivation next month.The ship’s decommissioning ceremony was held on the quay wall, alongside the moored USS Whidbey Island. The ceremony was attended by nine of her previous Commanding Officers and over 50 plankowners. “The last crew of Whidbey Island performed with great dignity and resiliency,” said Cmdr. Matt Phillips, the ship’s final commanding officer.

BMT will offer an updated concept design from its ELLIDA multi-role logistics ship design family for the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Joint Support Ship project, SEA2200. The ELLIDA family of concept designs was launched in 2019.ELLIDA has the utility to transport and deliver troops, vehicles, equipment and supplies to and from anywhere in the world in support of amphibious warfare and littoral operations, offering a versatile mix of ship-to-shore offloading and logistics capabilities to allow naval operations through landing craft…

HII announced that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division christened the company’s 13th amphibious transport dock, Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29), constructed for the U.S. Navy.“For nearly two decades, we have had the opportunity to build these amphibious ships, and we look forward to continuing this journey with such a valued partner,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “Today we reflect on Richard M. McCool Jr.’s bravery and heroism in front of a ship that will carry another generation of brave sailors and Marines into missions defending our freedom.”LPD 29 is named to honor U.S.