Croatian port is NATO's "hub" in Balkans
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Some 400 years later, the port remains a commercial 'hotbed' and access point to the Balkans, and beyond-commercial shipping containers from many countries, stacked one atop the other, wait to be loaded onto trucks or trains.
But just as common a site these days at the port are U.S. Army Blackhawk and Kiowa Warrior helicopters. Why?
Rijeka has become the "hub" for the Army's equipment moves in and out of Bosnia & Herzegovina-recently completing the seventh equipment rotation for Stabilization Forces, or SFOR.
The deployment took place March 2, 2002, as a U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command-contracted cargo vessel-MV Saudi Tabuk, off-loaded 31 Kiowa 'Warrior' and 'Black Hawk' helicopters. There were also 20 vehicles and some 60 shipping containers, carrying various supplies. The port was first used for SFOR equipment moves in August 1998.
Most shrink-wrapped in a plastic coating, each helicopter was carefully lowered down the ship's stern ramp onto the pier. "This equipment must be handled with extreme care," said Canadian Lt. Cmdr. Luc Morin, an exchange officer with the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Europe, based in Naples, Italy. "We are dealing with multi-million dollar helicopters and we take every precaution."
Once on the pier, Military Traffic Management Command's 839th Transportation Battalion based in Livorno, Italy, move the helicopters to a nearby staging area. Rotor blades are then either installed or moved forward from their 'swept' position during shipping. Required maintenance is performed immediately by Army mechanics, and each complete brief test flights. The aircraft are then flown to the nearby island of Krk where they are processed for onward flights into Bosnia & Herzegovina.
"The entire cargo operation lasted about fourteen hours," said Morin. The ship docked around 6:00 a.m., cargo off-loaded by 4:30 p.m., and set sail about an hour later-over 30,000 sq.ft. of new equipment delivered in a matter of hours.
The Swedish-built 42,000-ton Saudi Tabuk is a Saudi-owned roll-on/roll-off cargo ship, contracted for the move. The Navy often contracts commercial cargo ships as a cost-saving measure.
(FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND-EUROPE PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
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