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Sea Fox

The Sea Fox is a combination container/roro ship owned and operated by Crowley American Transport, Inc. The ship operates on a regular schedule between the east coast of North America and the east coast of South America. The ship is powered by a Sulzer 7RTA68 slow-speed diesel, which allows the ship to operate at approximately 19 knots.

The 'Sea Fox' was sold in April 1999 to Sealift Inc. and renamed 'Major Bernard Fisher' for service under Military Sealift Command Charter. In 1999 the 'Sea Wolf' (also known briefly as the 'Lykes Adventurer') and 'Sea Lion' were sold to American Automar for operation by Osprey Ship Mgmt., of Bethesda, Md. The ships are now known as the 'Titus' and the 'Gibson'. On September 21, 1999, the Maritime Administration approved the transfer of Maritime Security Program (MSP) Operating Agreements MA/MSP-13, MA/MSP-14, and MA/MSP-15 from Crowley American Transport, Inc to Automar International Car Carriers, Inc., (AICC).

The container cranes aboard the Sea Fox are the ships greatest asset. The cranes straddle the containers and travel fore and aft on a rail system. Unlike many cranes aboard container ships, the Liebherr cranes aboard the Sea Fox utilize the same type spreader system employed by land-based container cranes. The spreader system, along with the fore and aft and athwartship movements possible with the system, allow the Sea Fox to load and discharge cargo swiftly in ports where shore cranes are not readily available. This translates into shorter port time and significant savings for Crowley.

The Sea Fox also utilizes a shaft generator to produce electrical power. The unit is geared off the starboard side of the slow-speed main engine, and produces enough power to support the main electrical buss while at full sea speed.

Although the Sea Fox is a slow-speed diesel powered ship, the designers realized there could be a cathedral deck added to the aft portion of the ship without interfering with the exhaust uptakes or the upper levels of the engine room. This cathedral deck extends from the stern of the ship, past the engine room casing and terminates at the junction of the deck house and the cargo spaces for containers. The cathedral deck utilizes what would normally be a non-revenue producing space and allows the ship to carry a limited amount of roro cargo. The aft deck above the cathedral deck is outfitted with chocks to anchor containers, but is seldom used due to the ship not having the ability to load and discharge containers on this portion of the ship.

There are two sister ships to the Sea Fox- the Sea Wolf and the Sea Lion. Each of these three ships is on the same trade route, with two weeks between each ship. This class of ships was studied by the NAVSEA Engine Room Arrangement Modeling group (ERAM) due to its characteristics being a combination container/RORO ship, and for the ships unique self-unloading container capability. According to the Captain of the Sea Fox, this self-unloading capability has been the one feature that has kept the ship competitive in the South American market. This capability is one of the requirements set forth by NAVSEA for the midterm Sealift ships being studied at present.

The Captain of the Sea Fox says the main engine would be ideal if it could provide a steady 3 knots at dead slow. Because of the propeller and the minimum rpm of the engine, the slowest he can achieve is 6 knots. The Captain said this speed was a little fast and made him uneasy when he had to maneuver in and out of port.

On 01 December 1998 the Military Sealift Command awarded Sealift, Inc. of Oyster Bay NY a $41,265,255 time charter contract for the charter of MV Sea Fox, a US flag vessel which is a container ship with a limited amount of roll-on/roll-off space. The ship will be used in the prepositioning of Air Force ammunition in Diego Garcia. Work will be performed in waters around Diego Garcia and is expected to be completed in November 2003. This contract was competitively procured with 250 proposals solicited and 14 offers received.

References

• ENGINE ROOM BREAKDOWN FOR THE CROWLEY SEA FOX