Maersk Line, Ltd. has received a modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise a one-year option period for the time charter of a self-sustaining ship, MV SSG Edward A. Carter Jr., to support the U.S. Army’s ammunition prepositioning program.
As envisaged by the contract, worth USD 12.1 million, work will be performed at sea worldwide.
MV SSG Edward A. Carter Jr. with a length of 950 ft and a beam of 106 ft, features a displacement of 74,500 tons and can develop a speed of 18 knots.
The U.S. Army’s ammunition prepositioning program underlies strategic placement of military equipment and supplies aboard ships located in key ocean areas to ensure rapid availability. Military Sealif Command’s (MSC) 27 prepositioning ships support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Defense Logistics Agency.
Many of MSC’s prepositioning ships are able to discharge liquid, containerized or motorized cargo both pier side or while anchored offshore by using floating hoses and shallow-draft watercraft, called lighterage, that are carried aboard. This allows cargo to be ferried to shore in areas where ports are non-existent or in poor condition and gives the US military forces the ability to operate in both developed and undeveloped areas of the world.
Prepositioning ships include a combination of U.S. government-owned ships, chartered U.S. – flagged ships and ships activated from the Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force. All prepositioning ships are operated by U.S. civilian mariners who work for ship operating companies under contract to the federal government.
The aforementioned charter extension of MV SSG Edward A. Carter Jr. is valid until September 2014.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, September 27, 2013; Image: MSC