Page 15: of Marine News Magazine (August 2005)

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August, 2005 • MarineNews 15

A Department of Transportation pro- gram that helps supply U.S. military forces in the combat theater will continue supporting the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies under new contracts announced. Tthe

Department of Transportation's Maritime

Administration (MarAd) announced that its all-cargo fleet of fifty-four Ready

Reserve Force (RRF) ships will be main- tained by nine American owned and oper- ated ship management firms under a new set of contracts that have an estimated total value of $1.9 billion over 10 years. "We have seen first hand that the Ready

Reserve Force provides a vital link to the men and women of the armed services by carrying thousands of military vehicles, aircraft and other materiel to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq," U.S.

Transportation Secretary Mineta said. "This is an extremely cost effective and well-run program that keeps us prepared to rapidly respond to the military's needs."

The RRF ships are kept in a high state of readiness at fifteen ports located on the

Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the

United States. Some ships also are kept in a prepositioned status overseas. There have been 91 activations of Ready

Reserve Force Ships since December 2002. RRF ships have carried nearly 14,927,306 square feet of cargo — about 310 football fields of materiel. 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 per- formance. The management firms are responsible for keeping the ships in a con- stant state of readiness and getting the ships fully crewed with U.S-citizen mer- chant mariners when an activation call goes out. "The Ready Reserve Force has moved an extraordinary amount of cargo over the past several years and our nation's maritime industry has kept this fleet in good working order and worked diligently to show its value," Acting Mar- itime Administrator John Jamian said.

The Ready Reserve Force was estab- lished in 1976 and was significantly strengthened after the Gulf War in 1991 in order to ensure the military's continued access to cargo capacity. 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.

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NEWS

MarAd Announces New RRF Contracts 2005 Ship Manager Contract Awards

Contract Number Contractor Ship Group Vessels Est. Value (Base + Option Years)

DTMA8C50001 Maritime Transport Lines, Inc. 1 CAPE EDMONT, CAPE DUCATO, CAPE DECISION, CAPE DOUGLAS, CAPE DIAMOND, CAPE DOMINGO $104,430,540.00

DTMA8C50002 Horizon Lines, Inc. 2 CAPE LAMBERT, CAPE LOBOS $12,331,010.00

DTMA8C50003 Keystone Shipping Services, Inc. 3 CAPE RACE, CAPE RAY, CAPE RISE $50,714,263.00

DTMA8C50004 Crowley Liner Services, Inc. 4 CAPE WASHINGTON, CAPE WRATH $33,039,260.00

DTMA8C50005 Interocean American Shipping 5 GOPHER STATE, FLICKERTAIL STATE, CORNHUSKER STATE $36,445,545.00

DTMA8C50006 Matson Navigation Company 6 CAPE JACOB $1,582,811.55

DTMA8C50007 Keystone Shipping Services, Inc. 7 CAPE KENNEDY, CAPE KNOX $34,638,090.30

DTMA8C50008 Crowley Liner Services, Inc. 8 CAPE TAYLOR, CAPE TEXAS, CAPE TRINITY $48,295,485.00

DTMA8C50009 Keystone Shipping Services, Inc. 9 CAPE VICTORY, CAPE VINCENT $34,640,530.30

DTMA8C50010 Pacific Gulf Marine, Inc. 10 DIAMOND STATE $17,210,453.00

DTMA8C50011 Interocean American Shipping 11 PETERSBURG, CHESAPEAKE $21,327,570.00

DTMA8C50012 Patriot Contract Services, LLC 12 ADM WM M CALLAGHAN, CAPE ORLANDO $29,967,030.00

DTMA8C50013 Pacific Gulf Marine, Inc. 13 CAPE HENRY, CAPE HORN, CAPE HUDSON $47,463,304.00

DTMA8C50014 Crowley Liner Services, Inc. 14 CAPE INTREPID, CAPE ISLAND, CAPE INSCRIPTION, CAPE ISABEL $65,852,820.00

DTMA8C50015 Matson Navigation Company 15 COMET, METEOR $20,775,014.20

DTMA8C50016 Pacific Gulf Marine, Inc. 16 KEYSTONE STATE, GEM STATE, GRAND CANYON STATE $47,333,553.50

DTMA8C50017 Pacific Gulf Marine, Inc. 17 ALATNA, CHATTAHOOCHEE, NODAWAY $20,754,820.70

DTMA8C50018 Patriot Contract Services, LLC 18 CAPE GIBSON, CAPE GIRARDEAU $29,967,030.00

DTMA8C50019 Crowley Liner Services, LLC 19 WRIGHT, CURTISS $34,872,540.00

DTMA8C50020 Ocean Duchess, Inc. 20 CAPE MAY, CAPE MOHICAN $34,923,320.00

DTMA8C50021 Patriot Contract Services, LLC 21 CAPE FLORIDA, CAPE FLATTERY, CAPE FAREWELL, CAPE FEAR $42,173,090.00

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