Massive Navy cargo ship loads in Philadelphia
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The noncombatant ship, part of a 10-year ship-expansion program the Navy's Military Sealift Command completed last year, has been a prime mover for combat-essential cargo needed by deployed U.S. forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The ship has sailed between the United States and the Middle East four times during the past year, single-handedly transporting more than 1.5 million square feet of cargo for U.S. troops ashore.
MSC, along with the Air Mobility Command and Surface Deployment and Distribution Command are Transportation Component Commands of U.S. Transportation Command.
Seay, which is owned by the Navy and crewed by 30 commercial mariners, has a cargo-carrying capacity of more than 300,000 square feet - the equivalent of more than five football fields. The ship is one of about 34 Military Sealift Command cargo ships currently moving cargo for ground troops into and out of the U.S. Central Command area of operations.
The U.S. military's top sea transportation leader, Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, USN, Commander, Military Sealift Command, observed the loading operations aboard Seay in Philadelphia and met with the ship's crew and port officials.
" . . . during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Military Sealift Command has delivered more than 32 million square feet of combat cargo - the equivalent of more than 21 Pentagons - and more than one billion gallons of fuel via a 'Steel Bridge of Democracy' of more than 150 ships," Vice Adm. Brewer told members of Seay's crew, referring to the importance of MSC and the Navy in supporting U.S. military operations.
Ship loading operations, like the one in Philadelphia, as well as off-loading of returning cargo, have been occurring at U.S and overseas ports since early January. These operations are in conjunction with the rotation of roughly 240,000 U.S. military personnel into and out of the Middle East - one of the largest troop rotations since World War II. Ninety-five percent of the combat-essential cargo needed by these troops moves by sea.
MSC, the ocean transportation provider for the U.S. Department of Defense, normally operates each day more than 120 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships. That number increased to more than 210 ships daily during the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. Additional cargo ships were chartered from private industry or activated from reduced operating status to carry the heavy volume of equipment for war fighters supporting OIF.
MSC ships have been the key element in the delivery and redeployment of U.S. military equipment for OIF. From January to April 2003, MSC ships delivered 21 million square feet of cargo, 261 million gallons of fuel and 95,000 tons of ammunition to the Middle East.
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