MARAD’s READY RESERVE FLEET SHIPS MOVE INTO ACTION

MARADÆS READY RESERVE FLEET SHIPS MOVE INTO ACTION    In anticipation of war with Iraq, the U.S. Maritime Administration has activated 13 additional Ready Reserve Fleet ships.
   The orders were given to mobilize the ships by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. These ships, combined with four others on long-term assignment, bring the total of activitated RRF ships to 36.
   The RRF has augmented the Military Sealift Command’s 125-cargo ship fleet for more than 25 years. The ships were most recently used in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and in Haiti, Somalia, Croatia, Bosnia and for humanitarian support in Central America after Hurricane Mitch.
   “The RRF is a great asset because it provides efficient sealift, tailored to meet the requirements of the military,” said Maritime Administrator William G. Schubert. “The program also supports vital marine industries and labor unions that have been in decline, but are critical to support our nation in times of war.”
   MarAd’s combined RRF includes 72 militarily useful ships. The fleet is located throughout the country in ports, such as California’s San Francisco, Alameda, Port Hueneme and Long Beach; Charleston, S.C.; Tacoma, Wash.; Baltimore; Portsmouth, Va.; New Orleans; Wilmington, N.C.; and Texas’ ports of Houston, Beaumont and Orange. The ships are maintained in reserve status for Defense Department needs.