AMO Currents - Officers, crew of <i>USNS Gianella</i> train in exercise to support troops ashore

AMO Currents - Posted: August 20, 2009

Officers, crew of USNS Gianella train in exercise to support troops ashore

Two ships under Military Sealift Command charter -- the USNS Lawrence H. Gianella and the M/V Vice Adm. K.R. Wheeler -- Aug. 17 and 18 conducted a training exercise off the coast of Yeosu, South Korea, in which the ships' crews rehearsed a vital element of the U.S. military's ability to deliver fuel to ground forces ashore from a tanker anchored up to eight miles from land.

For this exercise, the Wheeler and USNS Gianella completed the complex operation of running a fuel transfer hose between the two ships and maintaining the ships' connected at-sea position for an extended period of time, MSC reported.

The Wheeler, the only ship of its kind, is key to this operational capability. The ship works as an at-sea pumping station to transfer fuel to shore from commercial and military tankers, MSC reported.

The T-5 tanker USNS Gianella is part of MSC's Maritime Prepositioning Squadron Two. The ship is operated for MSC by Ocean Ships Inc. and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.

The USNS Gianella, the Wheeler and its support vessel, the M/V Fast Tempo -- a 165-foot tug and tow boat designed for operational support of the Wheeler -- arrived Aug. 17 at a point approximately five miles off the coast of Yeosu, MSC reported.

During the exercise, the ships were connected with towlines and positioned bow-to-stern in close proximity. A workboat from the Wheeler secured a line to a floating pipe section deployed from the ship's stern. The boat dragged the float hose to the USNS Gianella, where the crew used the ship's side crane to hoist the hose aboard, MSC reported.

The hose was secured and the two ships remained connected for one hour to test the ability of the Wheeler and the USNS Gianella to maintain position during a fuel transfer operation. The hose was then disconnected and the Fast Tempo and Wheeler released the towlines from the USNS Gianella, completing the exercise.