MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett

MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296) was a container ship and lead ship of her class.[3] Originally named TNT Express, she was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Koje, South Korea in 1984. She was named after United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient Captain Steven L. Bennett. The ship was a Logistics Prepositioning Ship sponsored by the U.S. Air Force.[4] The ship returned to commercial service after the MSC contract ended in October 2012.

MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett
History
Name
  • MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (1997–2016)
  • Sea Pride (1996–1997)
  • Martha II (1991–1996)
  • TNT Express (1984–1991)
OwnerSealift Incorporated
Port of registry
Builder
Laid down1 January 1984
LaunchedAugust 1984
Completed1 October 1984
Acquired1984
HomeportDiego Garcia
Identification
FateScrapped 18 March 2016
Notes[1]
General characteristics
Tonnage29,223 gt
Displacement53,727.26 tons
Length209.4 m (687 ft), overall
Beam30.48 m (100 ft)
Draft11.6 m (38 ft)
Propulsion1 diesel; 1 shaft
Speed16.5 knots
Notes[1][2]

Previous owners

Capt. Steven L. Bennett was built in 1984 as TNT Express and operated as such under charter by ABC Containerline N.V. of Antwerp, Belgium for the London-based company TNT until 1991. In 1991, ABC Containerline bought the ship and renamed her Martha II. On February 14, 1996, the ship was detained in Melbourne, Australia when ABC went into receivership.[5] Den norske Bank of Norway bought the ship later in 1996 and renamed her Sea Pride. In 1997, the ship was bought by Sealift Incorporated of the United States and on November 20, 1997 given her final name MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett. In the first quarter of 1998, Capt. Steven L. Bennett began her prepositioning service under MPS Squadron One in the Mediterranean and as such became MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296).[4]

History

Capt. Steven L. Bennett started her Air Force Prepositioning Program career in the Mediterranean Sea, with a mission to "support the prepositioning requirements of the Department of Defense by transporting U.S. Air Force ammunition."[6] The contract, awarded to owner and operator Sealift Incorporated, of Oyster Bay, New York was for $41,823,500 with "reimbursables that could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $47.4 million."[6]

In 1999,[7] Bennett was involved in the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, where she "off-loaded more than two-thirds of her cargo of U.S. Air Force ammunition containers in Nordenham, Germany, which was distributed to the United Kingdom, Italy and other locations within Germany—quickly replenishing the Air Force's stockpile in theater."[8]

When the original contract expired in fiscal year 2002, Capt. Steven L. Bennett "competed for and won a new five-year contract and redeployed to the Mediterranean in October."[9] Capt. Steven L. Bennett, as a ship carrying Air Force cargo, was used extensively during fiscal year 2002 to support Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the global war on terrorism.[9]

Capt. Steven L. Bennett had an eventful 2003. Still assigned to MPS Squadron One, she started the year in the Mediterranean.[10] In April, she delivered cargo to the Persian Gulf and continued on to Diego Garcia. In July, she returned briefly to the United States, stopping en route in Northern Europe to drop off and load additional cargo.[11] In late 2003, Vice Adm. David Brewer III, commander of Military Sealift Command, awarded the officers and crewmembers of Bennett the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal.[12]

Capt. Steven L. Bennett spent much of her time at anchor in the lagoon of Diego Garcia,[13] and was spotted in New Orleans, Louisiana in early 2005.[14]

Ship specifics
Capt. Steven L. Bennett included cranes and advanced environmental controls.

Capt. Steven L. Bennett's side number, T-AK-4296, gives some information about her. The letter T indicates that it was "assigned to Commander, Military Sealift Command as a type commander."[15] The letters "AK" are reserved for cargo ships.[15] In fact, Bennett was actually a conbulker, a flexible design allowing it to carry both containerized and bulk cargo.[16][17] Fully loaded, it could carry 1,922 containers.[4][18]

Capt. Steven L. Bennett, like all MSC container ships, was self-sustaining, meaning that she had cranes which allowed her to move cargo without depending on shore-based equipment. This allowed Capt. Steven L. Bennett to fulfill her mission even in primitive, undeveloped or battle-damaged harbors.[3]

Environmental control

As Capt. Steven L. Bennett carried sensitive electronic cargoes in harsh environments for potentially years at a time, she required advanced environmental controls. The most obvious is the cocoon, or white fabric shell, that covered the ship from holds number nine to three. The cocoon was removed from the ship in 2012 during a shipyard period. The hold climate control equipment was also mothballed. All ships in Bennett class "feature climate-controlled cocoons on their weather decks that allow them to carry approximately 50 percent more cargo, while protecting the additional cargo from the marine environment."[2]

In addition to the cocoon, Capt. Steven L. Bennett used Tidal Engineering Corporation's Control and Monitoring System (TECMS) which monitored and controlled the cargo refrigeration and dehumidification controls, as well as providing administrative reports.[19]

Fate

The ship was broken up at Alang, India on 18 March 2016.[20]

See also

References
  1. "ABS Record: Capt. Steven L. Bennett". American Bureau of Shipping. 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  2. "Container Ships - T-AK". navy.mil. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  3. "Fact Sheet, Container Ships - T-AK". msc.navy.mil. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  4. "Sealift". fas.org. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  5. "Martha II at NZ Maritime Index". nzmaritimeindex.org.nz. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  6. "DefenseLink: Contracts for Friday, June 07, 2002". defenselink.mil. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  7. "Military Sealift Command praises AMO ships, officers". American Maritime Officer magazine. Archived from the original on October 8, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  8. "NATO Recognizes MSC Europe Staff for Service to Kosovo". U.S. Navy Press Release. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  9. "Military Sealift Command: 2002 in Review". msc.navy.mil. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  10. "Ships/Navy: Logistics prepositioning ships". Sea Power. 2003. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  11. "Military Sealift Command: 2003 in Review". msc.navy.mil. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  12. "AMO members serve in military operations, exercises". American Maritime Officer magazine. Archived from the original on July 20, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  13. "Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Two". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  14. "VOS Cooperative Ship Report: January through February 2005". vos.noaa.gov. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  15. "SECNAV Instruction 5030.1L, dated 22 Jan 1993". msc.navy.mil. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  16. "Shipspotting Brussel". shipspotting.com. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  17. "Metallurgy and Shipbuilding". skynet.be. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  18. "T-AK 4296 Capt. Steven L. Bennett". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  19. "TECMS". Tidal Engineering.
  20. "TNT Express (8313661)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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