English Channel storm damages MTMC cargo

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (USTCNS) --- A raging storm in the English Channel has damaged a portion of a Military Traffic Management Command cargo carrying service members' possessions.

M/V Faust encountered heavy weather on the afternoon of Nov. 5, said Capt. Mike Frego, of MTMC's Command Operations Center.

"They had hurricane force winds," said Frego. "At one point the ship rolled 32-degrees."

At the height of the storm a U.S. Air Force airplane-towing vehicle came loose from its shackles, said Frego. It damaged several vehicles and then hit the side of a diesel fuel tank. The impact ruptured the tank spilling 10 tons of diesel oil.

Early damage reports indicate that some oil leaked on 85 of 261 privately owned vehicles stored on lower decks. The vehicles were being shipped by MTMC to service members in Europe.

The four damaged military vehicles were loaded in Baltimore for Southhampton, United Kingdom.

Additional damage from the diesel oil appears limited to the wooden support legs of 110 household good cases.

"From the reports we had," said Frego, "the crew went right to work in an heroic fashion and minimized further damage."

The Faust retired to Le Havre, France, to escape the storm turbulence.

The ship loaded military cargo in both Charleston, S.C., and Baltimore, and was bound for Bremerhaven, Germany. The Faust provides regularly scheduled liner service for MTMC through the Universal Services Contract #2.

MTMC has tasked the 598th Transportation Group, Rotterdam, Netherlands, to document damages and conduct an investigation of the incident when the ship docks in Bremerhaven. (FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).