MarAd awards contracts for Ready Reserve Force management

MarAd awards contracts for Ready Reserve Force management    The U.S. Maritime Administration’s all-cargo vessel fleet of 54 Ready Reserve Force ships will be maintained by nine American owned and operated ship management firms under a new set of contracts valued at $1.9 billion over 10 years.
   The RRF ships are kept in a high state readiness at 15 ports located on the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. Some ships are also kept in a prepositioned status overseas.
   According to MarAd, there have been 91 activations of RRF ships since December 2002. RRF ships have carried nearly 15 million square feet of cargo — about 310 football fields of materials.
   “Most of the new ship management contracts are built on a four year base period and include two three-year extension options that will be based on the company’s performance,” MarAd said in a statement. “The management firms are responsible for keeping the ships in a constant state of readiness and getting the ships fully crewed with U.S.-citizen merchant mariners when an activation call goes out.”
   A list of the contract awardees, contract values and ships under new contracts is available online at https://voa.marad.dot.gov.
   The RRF was established in 1976 and was significantly strengthened after the 1991 Gulf War. Many of the ships have unique capabilities and have been used for humanitarian missions such as carrying aid to Haiti and participating in the December 2004 tsunami relief efforts.