T-AKE Fleet Means Job Opportunities for CIVMARSLess than three weeks after the launch of the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s first Lewis and Clark-class vessel, the keel was laid for the second such ship, signaling more job opportunities for members of the SIU Government Services Division.
The dry cargo/ammunition vessels—each with a crew of 123 CIVMARS plus about 50 military-department personnel—will be part of a fleet of combat logistics force underway replenishment ships. At least eight of the new T-AKE vessels will be built at San Diego’s National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO). There are options for four additional ships.
The keel-laying ceremony for the USNS Sacagawea took place June 8 at the shipyard. That vessel is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2006.
As reported last month, the first ship in the fleet, the USNS Lewis and Clark, was launched on May 21.
According to MSC, the T-AKE ships “will directly contribute to the ability of the Navy to maintain a forward presence. The T-AKE’s primary mission will be delivering supplies to Navy ships from sources of supply like friendly ports, or from sea using specially equipped merchant ships. The T-AKE will transfer cargo—ammunition, food, limited quantities of fuel, repair parts, ship store items and expendable supplies —at sea to station ships and other naval warfare forces.
“In its secondary mission, the T-AKE may be required to operate in concert with a Henry J. Kaiser-class (T-AO 187) oiler as a substitute on-station ship, providing direct logistic support to ships within a single carrier strike group.”
The agency further noted that the new ships are “being built to commercial specifications and standards and will be certified/classed by the American Bureau of Shipping, the United States Coast Guard and other regulatory bodies.”
Seafarers crew a number of different types of vessels for MSC, including those in the following programs: prepositioning, special mission, Ready Reserve Force, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, and sealift (the latter group including tankers, dry cargo and surge ships).
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