Pentagon's Logistics Chief Wants to Buy Four Foreign-Built Ships a Year

The German-built steamship Antares, ex name Sea-Land Galloway. Antares was acquired by the Navy in 1982 and is one of many foreign-built sealift ships still in service; she will be sold for demolition next year (USN file image)

The new head of U.S. Transportation Command wants to buy as many more foreign-built ships as necessary to replenish the sealift fleet, purchasing secondhand hulls abroad and repairing them in the United States to meet Military Sealift Command's standards. This acquisition strategy has been used to bolster the Ready Reserve since the Cold War, and is viewed by defense logistics planners as a rapid and cost-effective way to get new tonnage into a deteriorating sealift fleet.

"The median age of the 46 Roll-on/Roll-off ships we use to surge from the continental United States is 47 years; 14 of the 46 ships are 50 years old or older," said Gen. Randall Reed (USAF) in written testimony for the Senate Armed Services Committee. "USTRANSCOM supports the Navy’s strategy to recapitalize the government-owned fleet by acquiring foreign-built sealift ships from the commercial used market while also removing limitations on the number of used sealift vessels that the DoD can procure."

The Navy and the Maritime Administration have been buying foreign ships for the Ready Reserve for some time, and have authorization to purchase a maximum of 10 used ro/ros. That cap is approaching: seven used hulls have been bought already, and two more are expected this year.

Gen. Reed testified that the optimal course of action would be to waive the cap and buy four more a year going forward, two a year at minimum. These purchases would offset the built-in decline in capability as the fleet ages out: 30 sealift ships are on track to decommission by 2034, and the aging fleet's ability to get underway on short notice is already in doubt. Reed noted that many of the oldest ships have steam plants, and it is difficult to recruit mariners to work on these vessels.

Gen. Reed told the committee that in the short term, Transportation Command needs all the flexibility that it can get to buy used tonnage on the commercial market, and would like a waiver of the 10-ship cap on purchasing foreign-built hulls. However, he emphasized the importance of the Jones Act and the need to continue building vessels in America.

"Together we are working to get ships in any way we can. The address last night by the commander-in-chief emphasized that sealift is definitely something we need to do. He intends to make sure we can return to the seas," he said. "We need to build new and buy used."