MV Cape Vincent (T-AKR-9666)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

MV ''Cape Vincent'' (T-AKR-9666) was built as MV ''Marzario Italia'' in 1984 at Italcantieri, Italy. After launch, it was delivered to CMB Italy after which it was briefly renamed ''Taabo Italia''. She was acquired on 13 May 1993 by the US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration and renamed ''Cape Vincent'', on 1 February 1994, assigned to the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force ships. ''Cape Vincent'' is operated by Patriot Contract Services. When activated, ''Cape Vincent'' is one of the Maritime Administration's 31
roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
Reserve Force ships assigned to the US Navy's
Military Sealift Command 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 m ...
(MSC) Sealift Program Office. ''Cape Vincent'' is nested at the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, in ROS-5 status, with a 10-man maintenance crew on board.


History

After reflagging, ''Cape Vincent'' entered the RRF in Reduced Operating Status – 4 (ROS-4) on 19 August 1994. The vessel is required to be ready for tender to COMSC within 96 hours of an activation notice. The ten-person ROS crew performs continuous maintenance in order to maintain the vessel in class with the American Bureau of Shipping and fully certificated by the USCG. As an ROS-4 vessel, ''Cape Vincent'' conducts an annual maintenance activation. This at-sea operational period enhances the material condition of her plant. ''Cape Vincent'' is currently in ROS-5 status.


Cargo capability

From June through November 1998, ''Cape Vincent'' and her sister vessel '' Cape Victory'' were modified by the addition of a new
spar deck A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. Ve ...
. This increased the overall militarily useful sq. ft capacity of each vessel. The two CAPE V class ships function the same in their ability to load wheeled and tracked vehicles via the stern ramp. ''Cape Vincents most notable feature is its total deck capacity consisting of , of which 126,084 is militarily useful. ''Cape Vincent'' has 126,084 sq ft of heavy deck strength (over 525 psf with 13 f. clearances) and 30,440 sq ft of light deck. In addition, ''Cape Victory'' has 100 450-volt reefer outlets.


Operations

Within one month of entering the RRF, on 9 September 1994, the ''Cape Vincent'' loaded cargo at
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
, and departed for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. ''Cape Vincent'' supported
Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by ...
, a peace-keeping mission, for 104 days before returning to
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...
. Following her return from Uphold Democracy she returned to her layberth and was next activated on 25 December 1994, for Fuertas Defensas 95, providing 45 days of transport for outsized unit equipment to Guatemala in support of military training. This was part of a larger exercise which included the Army's Battlefield Visualization initiative in Panama. On 4 September 1996, ''Cape Vincent'' underwent a test of her activation readiness capability and successfully activated in 1.9 days. ''Cape Vincent'' surpassed this record, activating in 1.8 days for a humanitarian relief effort to Central America in response to the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch. ''Cape Vincent'' transported construction equipment and relief supplies for 108 days. On 30 March 1999, ''Cape Vincent'' received the Maritime Administrator's Professional Ship Award in recognition of her service. The ''Cape Vincent'' was activated on 17 January 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom and loaded cargo from the 4th Infantry Division at the Port of Beaumont. The ship spent a total of 118 days in Full Operating Service (FOS), discharging cargo in Kuwait, loading in Turkey, discharging in Rotterdam and returning to Beaumont on 16 May 2003. Cape Vincent was active moving military equipment to Kuwait and back until the latter part of 2008. In 2005, ''Cape Vincent'' was on charter to FEMA providing relief to victims of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. ''Cape Vincent'' is located in the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Reduced Operating Status with a crew of 10. operated by Keystone Shipping until Jan 2016. Patriot Contract Services took over operations in February 2016. ''Cape Vincent'' moved to the
Marad Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum, Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in modern-day Iraq and roug ...
Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas, in August 2009 along with her sister ship ''Cape Victory'', saving the US Government approximately $1 million per year.


Notes


References


MV Cape Vincent (T-AKR-9666)
*


External links


National Defense Reserve Fleet Inventory
* http://www.keyship.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Vincent Ships built in Genoa 1984 ships Ships built by Fincantieri