MV Virginian, formerly named the MV Strong Virginian (T-AKR-9205), is a combination container, heavy lift, and roll-on/roll-off ship. Owned and operated by Sealift Incorporated of Oyster Bay, New York, the ship is one of seventeen container—roll-on/roll-off ships in use by the Military Sealift Command, and one of 28 ships assigned to that organization's Sealift Program Office. The ship was previously known as the MV Saint Magnus and the MV Jolly Indaco.
MV Buffalo Soldier (T-AK-9301) is a roll-on/roll-off ship, formerly of the French Government Line. She was sold and reflagged US, renamed to honor Buffalo Soldiers, and chartered by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command as a Maritime Prepositioning ship serving at Diego Garcia laden with U.S. Air Force munitions. She is self-sustaining, that is, she can unload herself, an asset in harbors with little or no infrastructure. Her 120-long-ton capacity roll-on/roll-off ramp accommodates tracked and wheeled vehicles of every description. While she is not currently in service with MSC, ships with her general characteristics are designated Buffalo Soldier class, fleet designation AK 2222.
Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States Military Sealift Command's (MSC) prepositioning program. There are currently 17 ships in the program, strategically positioned around the world to support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Defense Logistics Agency. Most are named after Medal of Honor recipients from the service they support. The ships are assigned to two Military Prepositioning Ship (MPS) squadrons located in the Indian Ocean at Diego Garcia and in the Western Pacific Ocean at Guam and Saipan.
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.
MV TSgt John A. Chapman (T-AK-323) was a Buffalo Soldier-class container ship. She was one of Military Sealift Command's Prepositioning Program.
William Hart Pitsenbarger was a United States Air Force Pararescueman who flew on almost 300 rescue missions during the Vietnam War to aid downed soldiers and pilots.
MV Capt Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296) is a container ship and lead ship of her class. Originally named TNT Express, she was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Koje, South Korea in 1984. She is named after United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient Captain Steven L. Bennett. The ship was a Logistics Prepositioning Ship sponsored by the US Air Force. The ship returned to commercial service after the MSC contract ended in October 2012.
MV Transpacific, also known as Bonito, also known as Turcas II, also known as Nikolay Shalavin (2001) is an oil tanker under long-term charter to the United States Military Sealift Command (MSC). As part of MSC's Sealift Program, the Transpacific transports fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense. Small and having shallow-draft, the Transpacific is known as a T-1 equivalent tanker, and moves petroleum products intra-theater in between Japan, Korea and The Marshall Islands.
MV TransAtlantic is a U.S.-flagged container ship owned and operated by TransAtlantic Lines LLC. The 100-metre (330 ft) long ship was built at Wuhu Shipyard in Wuhu, China in 1997 as Steamers Future. Originally owned by Singapore's Keppel Corporation, she has had three owners, been registered under three flags, and been renamed ten times.
MV American Tern (T-AK-4729) is a container ship managed by APL Maritime. Formerly the Liberian-flagged Kariba, the vessel was renamed American Tern under the United States flag in 2002. Since then, the American Tern has been chartered by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command. She was contracted through 2010 to make resupply voyages to McMurdo Station in Antarctica and Thule Air Base in Greenland. The vessel is named after the tern, a type of bird that makes annual migrations from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
Sealift Incorporated is an American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York. The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives. Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement. Between the start of fiscal 2000 and the first quarter of 2008, Sealift Inc. was awarded US$402,151,046 in contracts.
MV Maj. Bernard F. Fisher (T-AK-4396) is a U.S. Military Sealift Command vessel named for US Air Force Medal of Honor recipient Bernard F. Fisher. The vessel is a civilian-owned and operated container ship under contract to deliver pre-positioned supplies and equipment under the Military Sealift Command's Prepositioning Program. The Fisher is one of eight container ships that support Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, Air Force, Marine Corps and US Army operations as part of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three.
USNS GySgt Fred W. Stockham (T-AK-3017) is a Shughart-class container & roll-on roll-off support vessel in the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC). The vessel is the second Navy ship named after Marine Gunnery Sergeant Fred W. Stockham (1881–1918), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I.
USNS Soderman (T-AKR-317) is a Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ship (LMSR) and is part of the Military Sealift Command. The USNS Soderman is in the Preposition Program which station ship across the world with military equipment. The Soderman is Watson-class vehicle cargo ship built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company. The ship was launched on April 26, 2002 and put into service on the 24 of September 2002. The ship was named after Private First Class William A. Soderman, a Medal of Honor Recipient for World War II.
MV Kalia is a small double-hulled oil tanker managed by Adminros Shipmanagement Company, Ltd. and registered under the flag of Cyprus. The 109-meter-long ship has a nominal crew of 13 and can carry 30,000 barrels (4,770 m3) of oil. While known as the MV Montauk, the ship was owned by the American company Sealift Incorporated, and sailed under long-term charter to the United States Military Sealift Command where it transported oil for the U.S. Department of Defense.
SS Grand Canyon State (T-ACS-3) is a crane ship in ready reserve for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the state of Arizona, which is also known as the Grand Canyon State.
MV Cape Knox (T-AKR-5082) was originally built and operated out of Rotterdam, the Netherlands by Nedlloyd Lines and was eventually sold to the United States Department of Transportation as a ready reserve vessel. Later the ship was transferred to the Ready Reserve Fleet. The ship is currently under care of Keystone Shipping Company, and is kept in ready reserve status. It can be mobilized with five days of notice.
For M/V Cape Texas, a World War II Type C1-A, see Type C1 Ships
United States