The MV Ocean Trader (ex-Cragside) is a Special Warfare Support vessel operated by the United States Military Sealift Command. [1]
The vessel has been proposed to serve as a special operations base for up to 200 troops, hangar bays for helicopters, gyms and weapons lockers. [2]
Between the years 2010 and 2011 the US Joint Special Operations Command operated a leased vessel off the coast of Somalia. Commanded by an officer from the US Navy, the vessel fell under the command of Task Force 484, the JSOC task force for the Horn of Africa and Yemen. Leased from the Edison Chouest Offshore firm, it reportedly had the capability to accommodate Navy SEALs, RHIBs and a helicopter. However, it reportedly focused mostly on collecting SIGINT equipment provided and operated by Navy SEALs. It is likely that the ship was a stopgap measure before a permanent ship, the Ocean Trader, could be acquired. [3]
Cragside was launched by Odense Steel Shipyard in 2010, and completed in 2011 for Maersk Line. [4]
In November 2013, Maersk was awarded a $73 million contract to convert the ship. [5]
The US Navy's Request For Proposal called for a dual-screw ship capable of sustaining 20 knots speed with a range of 8000 miles, with 45 days endurance for a crew of 50 persons, augmented by a surge of up to 159 additional government personnel, and able to be refueled and re-provisioned underway for an additional 45 days' endurance for all 209 personnel. The vessel was to include capability to embark, hangar, launch and recover all rotary wing aircraft in the SOF inventory up to the size of the MH-53E, provide multiple refueling points for aircraft with a capacity for carrying 150,000 gallons of JP-5 fuel, carry and launch 4 boats of 12.3m length, two simultaneously within 20 minutes, and be able to carry, launch, and recover 8 jet skis and Zodiac inflatables. Modifications seen include a cavernous double hangar bay on the top deck forward of the bridge, and the conversion of the upper cargo deck immediately beneath the flight deck to handle the launch of boats. Unseen modifications were to include the addition of multiple dedicated maintenance and repair workshops for aircraft, UAVs, and small craft, dive lockers and service facilities for up to 60 NSWF personnel and their equipment, a 40 person SCIF, 20 person communications suite, berthing for at least 209 personnel, and emergency medical/surgical suite capable of accommodating at least 10 battle casualties. External FLIR monitoring and six 0.5inch machinegun pintle mounts for local security were also part of the upgrade. Numerous satellite antenna and communication masts are installed on the upper decks. All modifications included the requirement to operate in areas with ambient outside temperatures of 110 °F and sea temps of 95 °F. for extended periods in stationary location, indicating the Horn of Africa and waters contiguous to the Saudi Arabian peninsula would be the ship's primary area of deployment. [6]
The ship was in service as of 2017, and was reported to have operated in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. [7]
In January 2018, a photo of the ship was taken at the Al Duqm Port & Drydock in Oman. [8]
It was more recently photographed docked in Victoria in the Seychelles. [9]
| Draft | 18.4 ft (5.6 m) |
| Length | 633 ft (193 m) |
| Beam | 85.3 ft (26.0 m) |
| Displacement | 20,650 long tons (20,980 t) |
| Complement |
|
| Speed | 20 kn (37 km/h) |
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the United States Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, slower, more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes. Escort carriers were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their principal advantage as they could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable, and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier was a similar concept to the escort carrier in most respects, but was fast enough to operate alongside fleet carriers.
The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the last living U.S. Navy officer to hold the rank. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t), the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.
USS Admiralty Islands (CVE-99) was the forty-fifth of fifty Casablanca-class escort carrier built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after the Admiralty Islands campaign, a series of battles against isolated Japanese forces throughout the Admiralty Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago. The ship was launched in May 1944, commissioned in June, and served as a replenishment carrier, under the command of Capt. Edward Hastings Eldredge, in support of the invasion of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in November 1946, when she was mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrapping in January 1947.
USS Casablanca (AVG/ACV/CVE-55) was the first of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after the Naval Battle of Casablanca, conducted as a part of the wider Operation Torch, which pitted the United States Navy against the remnants of the French Navy controlled by Vichy France. The American victory cleared the way for the seizure of the port of Casablanca as well as the Allied occupation of French Morocco. The ship was launched in April 1943, commissioned in July, and served as a training and transport carrier throughout the war. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. She was decommissioned in June 1946, when she was mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold for scrap in April 1947.
The Wasp class is a class of landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy. Based on the Tarawa class, with modifications to operate more advanced aircraft and landing craft, the Wasp class is capable of transporting almost the full strength of a United States Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and landing them in hostile territory via landing craft or helicopters as well as providing air support via AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft or F-35B Lightning II stealth strike-fighters. All Wasp-class ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, at Pascagoula, Mississippi, with the lead ship, USS Wasp, commissioned on 29 July 1989. Eight Wasp-class ships were built, and as of April 2021, seven are in active service, as USS Bonhomme Richard was seriously damaged by fire on 12 July 2020, and subsequently decommissioned in April 2021.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by providing fuel and stores through replenishment at sea, transporting Royal Marines and British Army personnel, providing medical care and transporting equipment and essentials around the world. In addition the RFA acts independently providing humanitarian aid, counter piracy and counter narcotic patrols together with assisting the Royal Navy in preventing conflict and securing international trade. They are a uniformed civilian branch of the Royal Navy staffed by British merchant sailors.
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are regarded by some as the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.
HMS Nabob (D77) was a Ruler-class escort aircraft carrier which served in the Royal Navy during 1943 and 1944. The ship was built in the United States as the Bogue-classUSS Edisto (CVE-41) but did not serve with the United States Navy. In August 1944 the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-354 while participating in an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz. Nabob survived the attack, but upon returning to port, was considered too damaged to repair. The escort carrier remained in port for the rest of the war and was returned to the United States following it. Nabob is one of two Royal Navy escort carriers built in the United States which is listed as lost in action during World War II. The ship was sold for scrap by the United States but found a second life when purchased and converted for mercantile use under her British name, Nabob. Later renamed Glory, the ship was sold for scrapping in 1977.
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the flight deck. The official U.S. Navy term for these vessels is "air-capable ships".
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