MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND AWARDS $12-MILLION CONTRACT TO AMERICAN AUTOMAR

MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND AWARDS $12-MILLION CONTRACT TO AMERICAN AUTOMAR    The U.S. Military Sealift Command has awarded a $12.3-million 17-month “firm-fixed-price” contract to American Automar to time charter the carrier’s ice-strengthened ship, 'Kariba.'
   The Bethesda, Md.-based carrier’s vessel will be used to support the military’s Operation Deep Freeze, an annual resupply of McMurdo Base in Antarctica, and Operation Pacer Goose, the annual resupply of Thule Air Force Base in Greenland.
   “In the interim between missions, the ship will also move ammunition, general cargo and fleet hospitals,” the Military Sealift Command said. “MSC-chartered operations are scheduled to begin in December 2002, when the ship reports to Port Hueneme, Calif.”
   The 'Kariba' operates under the Liberian ship registry and will be renamed and reflagged as a U.S.-flag vessel to support the Military Sealift Command. The ship will replace the 'Green Wave,' operated by International Shipholding Corp., which has been under charter to the military since 1984.
   The Military Sealift Command is the ocean transportation provider to the Defense Department. It operates about 115 civilian-crewed cargo ships around the world.