Maritime Administration Activates Ready Reserve Force Ships
MARAD 01-03
Monday, January 27, 2003
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) today announced that it activated 13 Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships on Friday, Jan. 24 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The activations follow orders received from the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command.
The recently-activated ships join 19 others already activated to support Operation Enduring Freedom. These, combined with four others on long-term assignment, bring the total of activated MARAD RRF ships to 36.
For more than 25 years, MARAD's RRF has augmented the Military Sealift Command's 125-ship cargo fleet. The ships were used in Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM and more recently in Haiti, Somalia, Croatia, Bosnia, and for humanitarian support as part of Hurricane "Mitch" relief in Central America.
"The RRF is a great asset because it provides efficient sealift, tailored to meet the requirements of the military. The program also supports vital marine industries and labor unions that have been in decline, but are critical to support our nation in times of war," Maritime Administrator Capt. William Schubert stated. All RRF ships are crewed by American merchant mariners who volunteer for this potentially difficult duty.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) manages the RRF, which is a fleet of 72 militarily useful ships. This fleet, located throughout the country, is maintained in a reserve status in the event that the Department of Defense needs these ships to support the rapid, massive movement of military supplies and troops for a military exercise or large-scale conflict.
The following is a summary of activations that have taken place to date:
Recently activated:
| Ship Name | Layberth |
| ADMIRAL CALLAGHAN | San Francisco |
| CAPE EDMONT | Charleston, SC |
| CAPE HENRY | San Francisco |
| CAPE HORN | San Francisco |
| CAPE HUDSON | San Francisco |
| CAPE INSCRIPTION | Long Beach, CA |
| CAPE INTREPID | Tacoma, WA |
| CAPE ISABEL | Long Beach, CA |
| CAPE ISLAND | Tacoma, WA |
| CAPE ORLANDO | San Francisco |
| CAPE RAY | Portsmouth, VA |
| CAPE WASHINGTON | Baltimore |
| CAPE WRATH | Baltimore |
Activated earlier in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM: |
|
| CAPE DECISION | Charleston, SC |
| CAPE DIAMOND | Charleston, SC |
| CAPE DOMINGO | Charleston, SC |
| CAPE DOUGLAS | Charleston, SC |
| CAPE DUCATO | Charleston, SC |
| CAPE GIBSON | Alameda, CA |
| CAPE JOHN | Orange, TX |
| CAPE JOHNSON | Wilmington, NC |
| CAPE KENNEDY | New Orleans |
| CAPE KNOX | New Orleans |
| CAPE RACE | Portsmouth, VA |
| CAPE RISE | Portsmouth, VA |
| CAPE TAYLOR | Houston |
| CAPE TEXAS | Houston |
| CAPE TRINITY | Houston |
| CAPE VICTORY | Beaumont, TX |
| CAPE VINCENT | Beaumont, TX |
| CURTISS | Port Hueneme, CA |
| WRIGHT | Baltimore |
On long-term operations with Department of Defense |
|
| GOPHER STATE | Guam |
| PETERSBURG | Guam |
| CHESAPEAKE | Diego Garcia |
| CAPE JACOB | Diego Garcia |
