U.S. sending floating naval base through the Suez Canal
Source: CNN
U.S. sending floating naval base through the Suez Canal
June 21st, 2012
06:05 PM ET
By Barbara Starr
A U.S. warship designed as a floating base for naval special forces is scheduled to transit through the Suez Canal for the first time as early as Friday, Navy officials say.
The USS Ponce, an amphibious transport ship, recently finished a complete overhaul that now has it configured to operate as a floating staging platform for the military. It is being launched into the oil shipping lanes at a time of heightened tensions across the region, U.S. Navy officials told CNN.
The ship began approaching Suez on Thursday and is expected to enter the canal shortly on its way to the Persian Gulf.
The ship will function as a staging base for special operations forces and small patrol boats, including mine countermeasure vessels, in gulf waters that Iran has previously threatened to shut down.
Read more: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/21/navy-officials-floating-base-set-to-pass-through-suez-canal/
= new reply since forum marked as read
... especially for a Navy transport ...
The 570-foot long ship’s big flight deck and well deck are well suited to carry the choppers and small boats that SOF troops would use to execute raids from this floating assault base. In fact, a Navy market survey document laying out requirement to develop a floating base that can be used in the Persian Gulf says whatever ship is chosen must be able to carry 370 people, have a 20-person operations center, accomodate “4 MH-53 size helicopters” and a have up to 12 small vessels like riverine patrol boats and 7-meter Zodiac boats lash up to its side at any one time. Click through the jump to read the Navy’s market survey and the requirements for the floating base.
More, recently: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/21/navy-officials-floating-base-set-to-pass-through-suez-canal/
...The ship will function as a staging base for special operations forces and small patrol boats, including mine countermeasure vessels, in gulf waters that Iran has previously threatened to shut down.
Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, had long pressed for the conversion of the Ponce ...The Ponce is specifically tailored to maritime missions in the Persian Gulf region, where land-based forces often do not have ready access and concerns persist about maintaining open access to the Strait of Hormuz for international shipping.
The ship has a mixed crew of Navy officers and enlisted personnel, as well as civilian government mariners.
Virginian-Pilot article on deployment (largely volunteer mil crew): http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/once-set-retirement-ponce-deploys-new-role
They acknowledged that the ship was being overhauled unusually fast, in part because of pressing needs in the region, and that special operations forces may use the platform from time to time. But a range of other personnel also will use it, they said, and the ship wasn't remade specifically for SEALs.
....Also unusual is the way the Ponce is being operated and crewed. Unlike most Navy vessels, the ship won't routinely return to its home port. Instead it will remain deployed for the three or so years it's expected to be in use while the Navy works to fund and build a new staging-base ship from scratch.
And rather than being crewed exclusively by the Navy, the Ponce's 200 personnel include about 150 civil service mariners. The rest, including the commanding officer, Capt. John Rogers, are Navy sailors. They'll rotate aboard for 12-month assignments - twice as long as typical Navy sea tours.
