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841st Battalion makes military ships efficient
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
They are called large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships or in typical military fashion by an acronym: LMSRs and the “large” may be an understatement.
The LMSRs, of which there are a total 19 in the fleet, can move enough equipment to fill nine football fields, including helicopters, Humvees, tanks and trucks.
Rosemary Heiss, with the Military Sealift Command’s public affairs office, said typically three of the LMSRs work out of Charleston at any given time.
“These ships are loaded up with specific cargo to make it as efficient as possible,” Heiss said.
The USNS Charlton, recently returned from Kuwait, was especially efficient, she said, as it made its way back to the United States with 172,000 pounds of equipment.
“Ordinarily this much equipment would take two or three regular-sized ships, but because of the sheer size, they can do it in one ship,” she said.
The LMSRs were built in the 1990s specifically to load, transport and offload large amounts of equipment quickly.
The standard load time for an LMSR is about four days, although it can be done much more quickly if necessary, Heiss said. There are coordinated plans for maneuvering the tanks, trucks and other rolling equipment through internal ramps on the cargo decks.
Military Sealift Command, along with the 841st Transportation Battalion based in Charleston, developed the plans for loading and stowing the equipment on board.
The LMSRs are generally operated by the U.S. Army’s Surface Deployment Distribution Command, which controls when and where the equipment will be sent.
“They will typically have MSC go do something like retrieve the material in a certain region,” Heiss said. “The equipment comes back to the States when the Army needs it to come back.
“We transport DOD cargo using a mix of commercially chartered ships and government-owned ships like LMSRs,” said Heiss. “Several LMSRs are kept shoreside in reduced operating status until they are needed. These ships have a small cadre crew aboard to
maintain the ships’ operating systems and to ensure that the ships are ready when needed.”
While the ships remain in reduced operating status, they are maintained at lay berths operated by private companies. When needed, LMSRs are activated, fully crewed and made ready to get under way from their lay berths. The ships proceed to one of the ports to load cargo from designated military units, She said.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, MSC has transported 95 million square feet of dry cargo and 10 billion gallons of fuel, which amounts to more than 90% of all military cargo deployed in support of the war.
A large percentage of that occurs in Charleston, although Heiss said specific information is not available for security reasons.
MSC’s 19 LMSRs usually load cargo in Charleston; Beaumont, Texas; Mobile, Ala.; San Diego; Tacoma, Wash.; Philadelphia; Jacksonville, Fla.; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Anchorage, Alaska.
In addition, some of the government-owned ships, including LMSRs, are maintained in reduced operating status at six lay berths around the country, including Philadelphia; Baltimore; Newport News, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Violet, La.; and Corpus Christi, Texas.
MSC also operates about 100 non-combatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, and move military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.
MSC’s close relationship to the U.S.-flag shipping industry is mutually beneficial, Heiss said.
“Our mission depends on a viable U.S. maritime industrial base, so we work to maintain a strong partnership with industry,” she said. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to be as cost effective as possible.” and move military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.
MSC’s close relationship to the U.S.-flag shipping industry is mutually beneficial, Heiss said.
“Our mission depends on a viable U.S. maritime industrial base, so we work to maintain a strong partnership with industry,” she said. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to be as cost effective as possible.”
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