Members of the SIU Government Services Division recently helped a Military Sealift Command (MSC) vessel wrap up a lengthy, successful mission.
The Seafarers-crewed replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman returned to Naval Station Norfolk (Virginia) on Feb. 4, thus completing an overseas deployment in support of U.S. Navy and allied forces operating in the U.S. Sixth Fleet’s area of responsibility.
“The Leroy Grumman left for our deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in September of 2017,” said vessel master Capt. Kevin Tapp. “While we were deployed, the crew conducted over 30 underway replenishments at sea, providing 3.7 million gallons of fuel, 1,019 pallets of materials and provisions to U.S. Navy and NATO units from Canada, Italy, Turkey, Germany and the United Kingdom.”
As noted by the U.S. Navy, the Grumman is crewed by civil service mariners “who perform all required tasks and provide all needed support aboard the ship.”
Tapp added, “As the ship’s master, one of my responsibilities includes sailing the vessel alongside customer ships during underway replenishment operations. Our rig captains supervise at-sea fueling and cargo transfer operations alongside customer ships. The able-bodied seamen man the underway replenishment stations during at-sea fueling operations while the engineers keep the ship’s engines maintained and running at optimum performance. Our operations chief coordinates rendezvous and cargo requirements with customer ships at sea while the ship’s master and navigators safely navigate the vessel between ports and underway replenishment evolutions.”
Fleet replenishment oilers provide resupply services to U.S. Navy and allied ships while at sea so the combatant vessels are able remain on station longer. The Grumman has five underway replenishment stations.
While on its most recent deployment, the Grumman visited Rota, Spain; Naples, Italy; Souda Bay, Island of Crete (Greece); Augusta Bay, Sicily; and Malaga, Spain.
“The crew’s performance on this deployment was superior,” added Tapp. “The USNS Leroy Grumman’s civil service mariners were outstanding ambassadors of goodwill for our country during all of our port visits, and all of our missions were conducted successfully and safely.”
The ship’s namesake, Leroy Grumman, was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist who founded the company now known as Northrop Grumman.
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