Once a facility employee found six pipe bombs attached to a 1.5 million-gallon tank of sodium hydrosulfide and a tank of methanol, an extremely flammable liquid. At first, the incident was thought to be an act of international terrorism, but the FBI later found it was an attempted insurance fraud. A state police bomb squad removed and detonated the devices, but port tensions remained high. The commanding officer alerted the local maritime community of added security precautions to be taken. Security oversight When Desert Shield loadouts were announced for Newport News Marine Terminal, the MSO commanding officer established a security detachment of more than 40 Coast Guard reservists on active duty. This detachment provided safety and security oversight for 12 vessel loadouts. Conclusion The 21 vessels activated in Hampton Roads made 77 voyages carrying more than two million short tons of cargo in support of Operation Desert Storm and Desert Sortie. That success story is a tribute to the people who made these vessels operational -- managers and shipyard workers, tug operators and harbor pilots, and marine inspectors and merchant mariners. These teams came together in a crisis and prevailed. Not only did they provide critical support to the successful war effort, they also gave the languishing ready reserve fleet a much needed infusion of quality maintenance. Finally, the entire process vividly demonstrated the need to maintain a strong ship repair capability and a dependable pool of licensed mariners. LTJG David Haynes is the training coordinator and an investigating officer, and CWO2 Brian Fisher is a hull and machinery inspector at MSO Hampton Roads, Virginia. Telephone: (804) 441-3276. An important Coast Guard effort during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm was the safety inspection and certification of United States flag merchant ships used to sealift vital equipment and supplies to the Middle East. The ships were a mixture of government cargo vessels, and privately owned and operated ships. The government vessels were either civilian manned ships owned and operated by the Navy Military Sealift Command or ships owned by MARAD and maintained in a laid-up status as a ready reserve force for operation by the Military Sealift Command in times of crisis or national emergency. This ready reserve force is a vital part of our country's national defense transportation capability. Coast Guard personnel assigned to the merchant vessel inspection program conduct inspections of the government-owned vessels using the commercial vessel safety regulations that apply to their privately owned counterparts. Helping to ensure the safety of sealift ships, their crew and cargo is just one of many continuing jobs for Coast Guard marine inspectors nationwide. Resource network The merchant ships are an important part of a vast network of resources which can be tapped by the United States Transportation Command to provide air, sea and land transportation to meet national security objectives. Through its service components, the transportation command works continuously throughout DoD and with industry to integrate and make the most effective use of airlift, sealift and land resources from origin to destination. The command is organized to support the geographic commanders in chief in times of conflict through three components: the Military Sealift Command, the Military Airlift Command and the Military Traffic Management Command. The sealift command is responsible for global sealift operations. In any major, sustained overseas deployment of United States troops, sealift delivers approximately 95 percent of all dry cargo and 99 percent of all petroleum products. The airlift command deploys the vast majority of the troops, and the traffic management command musters, manifests, loads and moves troops and cargo to their stateside ports of embarkation. Available ships The Military Sealift Command operates two prepositioned fleets. These ships are maintained in locations near regions of the world where potential United States military actions might be required. As troops are moved rapidly by airlift, they join up with their prepositioned equipment and quickly become combat ready. Thirteen maritime prepositioned ships are divided into three squadrons, each capable of equipping and supplying a Marine expeditionary brigade, consisting of approximately 16,500 combat Marines. Another 12 afloat prepositioned ships carry Army and Air Force equipment and supplies. Next in response time are eight fast sealift ships, commercial container ships modified for a RO/RO capability for wheeled and tracked vehicles. These ships are maintained in United States East and Gulf Coast ports in a reduced operating status, which permits them to load and sail at short notice. If the situation warrants, the Military Sealift Command orders MARAD to activate ready reserve force ships for duty. This force, which is maintained by MARAD, currently numbers 96 vessels: 83 dry cargo ships, 11 tankers and two troopships. Although the vessels are in a lay-up status most of the time, they are maintained in such a manner that they can be made ready for sea on short notice. They are assigned a five-, ten- or 20-day status, which indicates the maximum number of days required to make them fully operational. During a vessel's activation, the Coast Guard oversees all testing of equipment and systems, including boilers, generators, main propulsion, steering, lifesaving and firefighting gear. Finally, each vessel undergoes a sea trial to demonstrate satisfactory operation of all equipment and systems. Activations Immediately after President Bush's order on August 7, 1990, to move United States forces to Saudi Arabia, afloat prepositioned ships in the Indian Ocean, the Western Pacific and Eastern Mediterranean proceeded at flank speed to the Persian Gulf. The first ship arrived August 15. At the same time, the Military Sealift Command activated the eight fast sealift ships to move the 24th (mechanized) Infantry Division from Savannah, Georgia, to Saudi Arabia. These ships have a combined capacity for more than 8,000 military vehicles. The USNS Capella quickly loaded the lead brigade of the division, arriving in the theater of operations August 27. Continued on page 22 Continued from page 21 The Military Sealift Command requested priority activation of 17 ready reserve force RO/RO ships. These vessels are extremely useful, because they carry military vehicles and other equipment which is too large to fit in a typical cargo ship container. MARAD also activated three break-bulk ships and two aviation logistics support ships carrying maintenance personnel and equipment for the Marine Corps. Activation of ready reserve force vessels continued at a frantic pace during the first two weeks. Twenty-one vessels were prepared for service, and tendered to the Military Sealift Command for deployment to United States ports to be loaded with cargo, ammunition and equipment. Two hospital ships were also activated for duty in the Persian Gulf. A typical activation required the aroundthe-clock work of two or more Coast Guard marine inspectors over a period of five to 20 days, depending on the condition of the vessel. A typical work day for an inspector on board an activating vessel was 14 to 16 hours, and often involved spending the night on board ship. By the end of 30 days, activation had begun on 42 vessels, with 36 completed. They included 17 RO/RO ships, ten break-bulk vessels, three LASH, three Seabee ships, two seatrain vessels and a tankship. Altogether, 78 ready reserve force vessels were activated for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Inspections In addition to the ready reserve force activation vessels, Military Sealift Command owned and chartered vessels were inspected by the Coast Guard. Follow-up inspections of vessels in overseas and United States ports were also needed because of emergency drydockings, damage from accidents, mechanical failures and expiration of inspection certificates. A total of 391 Coast Guard marine inspectors participated in this effort to help ensure the safety of the merchant mariners aboard the sealift vessels, and to protect the vital defense cargo. Lessons learned As the ready reserve force returns from duty to be placed back in a deactivated status, Coast Guard marine inspectors, MARAD and Military Sealift Command personnel, and industry representatives are documenting lessons learned during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Studies have already yielded ideas for improvements in safety and efficiency. The Coast Guard is proud to have contributed to the safety aboard the sealift ships during the operations, and is eager to learn from the experience. LCDR Charles A. Barrett and Mr. John J. Hannon are assigned to the Merchant Vessel Inspection Division of the Office of Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection. Telephone: (202) 267-1464. Cape Florida, a LASH (lighter-aboard-ship), delivers barges at the Port of Damman, Saudi Arabia. All photos accompanying this article are by Hal G. Laws, a MARAD program specialist. Before Operation Desert Shield, the Facility Compliance Office of Group/COTP New York provided explosive loading supervising details to the Naval Weapons Station at Earle, New Jersey, for one load every two months. These loads required eight to ten hours of supervision a day for two to three weeks. As operations intensified in the Middle East from September through December 1990, the loadouts increased to a vessel per month, requiring two ten-hour work shifts of supervision, six days a week over a period of two to three weeks. The Coast Guard also monitored a second loadout point for equipment and limited quantities of explosives at the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne, New Jersey. COTP New York maintained continuous security zones around the Earle and Bayonne facilities, which were only suspended at the latter during limited times when ships were not present. Hull is loaded with blocked and braced explosives bound for the Persian Gulf. Waterside security Waterside security for the weapons station at Earle was routinely provided by Coast Guard floating units from Group Sandy Hook. Floating units from Group New York provided the necessary security for loading operations at the Bayonne terminal. The New York units included small boats and three 65-foot cutters: Hawser, Line and Wire. The cutters conducted three-day deployments controlling commercial traffic to the area, preventing all access by vessels or small boats which were not cleared. Pace quickens Once offensive action started in the Middle East, the pace quickened in the Port of New York. At any one time during January and February 1991, three vessels were simultaneously loading bulk explosives at the weapons station at Earle, while additional vessels were loading military equipment, such as tanks, trucks, cranes and helicopters at the Bayonne terminal. Continued on page 24 |