MARAD awards $1.96 B for National Defense Reserve Fleet

MARAD, the United States Maritime Administration has awarded a total of $1.96 billion worth of contracts to seven companies to manage, maintain and operate 48 vessels of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessels through January 2024.

The contracts are funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Sealift Fund to support DoD’s strategic sealift mission.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said: “Since 1946, National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels have facilitated U.S. strategic sealift, natural disaster response, and humanitarian operations all around the world. From supporting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and providing humanitarian support for Haiti, to supporting the United Nation’s at-sea neutralization of Syria’s chemical weapons.”

The eighteen contracts awarded to seven U.S. maritime firms total $953.5 million for the 4-year base contract which runs through January 2020. The contracts also include two, 2-year options bringing the total award value to $1.96 billion. These seven companies are responsible for maintaining the ships in good mechanical condition and ensuring that crews are available to operate them when needed.

Forty-six of the vessels are part of the Department of Transportation’s Ready Reserve Force, a fleet managed by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) that provides rapid mass movement of Department of Defense equipment and supplies to support U.S. Armed Forces, and also responds to national and humanitarian emergencies.

Additionally, two vessels are used to support Missile Defense Agency operations. Each certified, mission-ready vessel is maintained so that it can be fully activated and deployed quickly.

According to the Department of transportation, the 46 Ready Reserve Force vessels have been activated hundreds of times since 2002.

Maritime Administrator Paul ‘Chip’ Jaenichen said: “The U.S. Merchant Marine and National Defense Reserve Fleet play a crucial role in our nation’s security. These contract awards will allow our commercial maritime companies to continue providing top-notch support to our troops who are stationed or deployed around the world.”

The seven companies that got the contracts are Keystone Shipping Services, Crowley Technical Management, Matson Navigation Company, Ocean Duchess, Pacific-Gulf Marine, Patriot Contract Services and Tote Services, with Tote landing the biggest sum of $461,164,825.