Latest Breaking News
In reply to the discussion: US troops deliver food, supplies to devastated Puerto Rico during round-the-clock operations [View all]AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Under ideal conditions, it can be very carefully docked and then it is quite useful. These are not ideal conditions. The port was opened Thursday for limited sized ships, and daylight hours only. The coast guard is working to define and clear the channel.
It is also difficult to tie up to, because it's an old oil tanker, and rolls heavily in any sort of seas. It has a single, small helipad with no hangar.
The Kearsarge has six operating rooms and 513 beds, with contingency room for more, plus a deck that can launch/retrieve up to 7 helicopters at once, PLUS amphibious transports and a wet deck for internal docking. Kearsarge was there (and the Oak Hill) before the hurricane even arrived. It's half the Comfort, medically speaking (with the best of the Navy, as far as doctors go) but with the ability to get lots of people on and off the ship under just about any conditions.
The Comfort was in Costa Rica in 2011, for 11 days and triaged 8,376 patients. To do that, it must dock. The Kearsarge and Oak Hill don't need to, that's why the DoD had no intent to send Comfort for this specific disaster. It's also holding the Iwo Jima and New York at the ready, which would double the capabilities of the Kearsarge. (I don't know why they haven't sent it, they should, really I think. But it's being re-loaded after being utilized in the Keys.)
The DOD said why it wasn't sending the Comfort on Monday. Political pressure has changed that, but that still doesn't mean it will be able to dock.