NAPLES, Italy (USTCNS) --- In just 6 weeks, 15 operations in 9 countries on 2 continents-no small task ... but MSC's chartered sealift ships handled the mission!

From northern Germany to northern Africa, charters moved everything from missiles to generators to bulldozers-supporting contingency operations, multi-national military exercises, ammunition moves, and strategic fuel deliveries.

"We've experienced this type of pace before, but not this amount of diversity in operations," said MSC Europe deputy sealift director Dennis Debraggio.

Debraggio, who has served at MSC Europe since June of 1996, said eight chartered ships were in action since early September-including lift-on/lift-off, roll-on/roll-off, combination vessels, and tankers-performing a wide range of missions. Short-term charters, long-term charters-"virtually every possible method to get the job done," Debraggio said.

MSC charter ships MV Maersk Alaska and MV Green Wave completed ammunition moves from Navy ports in Augusta Bay, Italy; Rota, Spain; and Souda Bay Greece, which, according to Debraggio, is the first time commercial chartered vessels performed 'ammo' lifts at these ports.

"As 'liner' term operations, MSCEUR is responsible for the coordination of the mission...the success of which rests heavily with the exception skills and cooperation of various units involved in these operations-naval weapons personnel, reserve hatch teams, and commercial stevedores from Spain, Italy, Greece," Debraggio said. "They all did an exceptional job."

MV Maersk Alaska loaded 130 containerized missiles at Rota, Spain, Sept. 20-22. MV Green Wave delivered five-inch gun ammo from the U.S., discharging 550 pallets Sept. 12 at Augusta Bay, Sicily, Italy, and 580 pallets at Souda Bay, Greece, Sept. 14-18.

Maersk Alaska also loaded 26,000 sq.ft. of Kosovo Force, or KFOR, redeployment cargo Sept. 16-17 in Nordenham, Germany-cargo belonging to the U.S. Army's 187th Infantry.

Deane Swickard of MSCO Northern Europe managed cargo operations in cooperation with the U.S. Army Military Traffic Management Command's 950th Transportation Company.

Green Wave then discharged exercise Early Victor cargo in Jordan, then transited to Bizerte, Tunisia. The ship loaded 4,000 sq.ft. of U.S. Navy 'Seabee' heavy construction cargo Sept. 29 in Tunisia, supporting the exercise Atlas Hinge redeployment. The ship off-loaded at Rota, Spain.

Green Wave also sailed to LaMaddalena, Sardinia, Italy, on Oct. 10, loading generators. Debraggio said this sealift requirement, which MSC responded to quickly, show charter diversity in responding to emergent and sometimes difficult sealift operations. Seabees were involved in the operations as were U.S. Navy auxiliary vessels, including tugs.

MSC chartered roll-on/roll-off ship MV Gran Bretagne in early September to move 89,000 square feet of cargo, including 65 Blackhawk, Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters at Rijeka, Croatia-part of the Sustainment Force Eight deployments into Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The next month at the same port, chartered roll-on/roll-off ship MV Saudi Hofuf loaded 105,000 sq.ft. of U.S. Army SFOR-7 cargo, including containers, rolling stock and helicopters.

MTMCs 839th Transportation Battalion based in Livorno, Italy, worked with MSC Europe on this operation.

MV Green Dale performed a large movement of U.S. Army prepositioning equipment in late September-more than 54,000 sq.ft. of U.S. Army war reserve cargo was moved from Antwerp, Belgium, to Umm Said, Qatar. NOREUR was there again as were our MTMC partners.

Roll-on/roll-off ship MV Conti Progress delivered 12,800 sq.ft. of cargo for exercise Atlas Drop, from Livorno, Italy, to Bizerte, Tunisia, Oct. 17. The ship also moved 6,500 sq. ft. of Army War Reserve prepositioning cargo from Livorno, Italy to Umm Said, Qatar.

Debraggio said the U.S. Defense Attaché's office, and the Office of Defense Cooperation in Tunis, Tunisia, played a critical role in the planning and liaison with the Tunisian military, MSC Europe personnel, and the deploying U.S. military unit-"vital to the success of the operation."

Finally, long-term charter tanker MV Lawrence Gianella and voyage charter MV Tomis Cloud shuttled between various Maltese, Greek, Turkish and Spanish ports, moving thousands of gallons of aviation and marine diesel fuel. (FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND-EUROPE NEWSWIRE).