Roy M Wheat News

Eighty-seven vessels owned or managed by Crowley Maritime Corporation recently received the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA)’s annual Jones F. Devlin Awards in recognition of their 2016 safety records. Each year, the CSA grants Devlin Award certificates to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a Lost Time Injury (LTI), highlighting the skills and dedication of the crewmembers responsible for safe vessel operations. Crowley’s 2016 Devlin Award-worthy vessels together have achieved 670 years of service without an LTI.

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.

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)…

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.

HPI, LLC, a supplier of turbine control solutions and turnkey power plants, announced a project award to install a Propulsion Control System (PCS) aboard the USNS Roy Wheat. HPI was contracted by Keystone Shipping a ship management company for the US Navy. The USNS Roy Wheat is one of the Military Sealift Command's thirteen Container & Roll-on/Roll-off Ships and is part of the 32 ships in Military Sealift Command's Prepositioning Program. HPI is working closely with the Military Sealift Command towards developing a replacement propulsion machinery control and monitoring system based on the latest generation of ABS Approved Commercial Off the Shelf PLC’s and other automation components.

The leadership of Military Sealift Command’s 6th Fleet-based Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One, or MPS Squadron One, changed hands May 22 in Corfu, Greece, with the outgoing commander Capt. Clay Saunders being relieved by Capt. William Sheehan during a ceremony held aboard the squadron’s flagship USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo. The ships of MPS Squadron One – MSC ships Bobo and USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat –  are forward deployed year-round in the European and African theaters, strategically prepositioning military cargo at-sea for quick delivery ashore in the event of any fast-breaking military or humanitarian crises. While Bobo and Wheat are noncombatant cargo ships crewed by merchant mariners, the squadron is commanded by a Navy captain and a military staff embarked aboard the flagship.

Military Sealift Command ships USNS 2nd LT John P. Bobo and USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat arrived off the coast of Monrovia, Liberia, in the Gulf of Guinea March 20, to participate in a sea-basing and humanitarian aid distribution exercise in conjunction with U.S. Marines and Africa Partnership Station ships USS Fort McHenry and HSV-2 Swift. Bobo and Wheat are U.S. Navy cargo ships that are part of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One, or MPSRON One, one of three squadrons that preposition military equipment in strategic locations at-sea for rapid delivery ashore in response to military or humanitarian crises. These squadrons are commanded by a U.S. Navy captain with an embarked military staff, while the ships themselves are crewed by merchant mariners under contract to MSC.

The decision to repower a vessel is a multi-faceted one, and it can be safely assumed that no two decisions in this arena are exactly the same. Whether it's a crewboat that needs new power units to accommodate a new scope of operation; extending the life of an old, but otherwise stable boat; a rip and refit to replace under performing engines; or as a simple factor in the overall vessel conversion equation - the decision to install new engines on a vessel entails a significant financial investment for the owner. This year has seen a number of significant and unique marine repowerings. The vessels covered in this report are unique in that they range from a 149-passenger tour boat to an 846-ft. long military freighter powered by gas turbine engines.

The decision to repower a vessel is a multi-faceted one, and it can be safely assumed that no two decisions in this arena are exactly the same. Whether it's a crewboat that needs new power units to accommodate a new scope of operation; extending the life of an old, but otherwise stable boat; a rip and refit to replace under performing engines; or as a simple factor in the overall vessel conversion equation - the decision to install new engines on a vessel entails a significant financial investment for the owner. This year has seen a number of significant and unique marine repowerings. The vessels covered in this report are unique in that they range from a 149-passenger tour boat to an 846-ft. long military freighter powered by gas turbine engines.

The U.S. Lance Cpl. Roy M. Wheat, Tuesday, Oct. Blount Island Command, Jacksonville, Fla. Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic, Lt. Gen. Martin R. Berndt, is the ceremony's principal speaker. Margaret Taylor, wife of Rep. across the bow to officially name the ship. The ship is named in honor of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Roy M. (1947-1967), a native of Moselle, Miss. On Aug. sacrificed his life to save the lives of two other Marines. with his own body. and possible death. with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. mariners as a part of the Maritime Prepostioning Force (MPF) program. roll-on/roll-off and container cargo. airfield, a naval construction battalion, and a fleet hospital. tons fully loaded, and can sustain speeds of more than 20 knots.

USS Mahan (DDG72) participated in combined Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) with the Russian frigate, RFS Neustrashimy (RFS 712), June 6 as part of the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2007. BALTOPS, taking place June 4 - 15, is the largest annual international training event organized in the Baltic Sea and includes in-port and at-sea serialized training events designed to build interoperability and better information-sharing practices with partnering nations. The two ships took part in MIO operations -- the inspection and possible diversion of suspect merchant vessels -- as one of the first events of the multiphase exercise. During the training event…

It's one stop shopping on Florida's west coast at Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair, which offers its full service facilities, including three graving docks and direct access from the Gulf of Mexico. Touted by its owners as the largest yard between Pascagoula, Miss. and Hampton Roads, Va., Tampa Bay provides conversions, overhauls and general repair jobs with its 900-ton lift capacity. Owned by the Tampa Port Authority since 1955, the former Tampa Shipyards became Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair on February 1, 1997. According to Henry Perryman, the yard's general manager of operations, the company, who has lured back about 20 repeat customers, has performed various jobs on about 150 ships — ranging from tugs to tankers — since its establishment.

With a history spanning three generations and more than 80 years, Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc. is quite the familiar face in the Gulf Coast marketplace. Tracing origins back to 1919, when Theodore Jackson (T.J.) Bender, armed with knowledge from his apprenticeship at Ollinger Iron Works, formed Bender Welding and Machine Company; Bender Shipbuilding has adjusted and changed to market demand, building an assortment of vessels - ranging from barges and pushboats to towboats and shrimp vessels to OSVs and U.S. Navy Ships, and pretty much everything in between. T.J. Bender didn't survive to see the yard's transformation from machine ship to boatbuilder, as the company founder passed away in 1948.