Seaward Services to operate and maintain HSV ALAKAI and HSV HUAKAI for the United States Navy.
Seaward Services (SSI), a HMS Global Maritime (HMSGM) company based in New Albany, Indiana, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract through Military Sealift Command (MSC) to operate and convert the former Hawaii Superferry vessels HSV Alakai and Huakai for MSC.
HMSGM has been managing these vessels since overseeing their construction and was the operator during the use of Alakai in Hawaii as an inter-island fast ferry. The company also activated both vessels during the Haiti Earthquake Relief in January 2010, in which the HSV Huakai transported up to 600 tons of military vehicles and supplies, along with 150 troops, to the affected region.
Under the new contract, SSI will continue to provide qualified ship’s officers and crew, operational and technical support (ashore and afloat), equipment, tools and provisions to operate and maintain the vessels.
The contract is anticipated to extend to last for one year and will end with the delivery of the vessel to Naha, Okinawa, Japan, where it will provide services to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. Future plans for the HSV Alakai are uncertain, but it is possible the Navy will refit the vessel for military service given its availability.
“The Seaward Services team looks forward to supporting MSC and the Navy with these unique assets,” said Bill Annand, Executive Vice President of Seaward Services. “The continued management of the vessels is a further testament to our expertise in operating large HSVs of this type in military applications.”