Two Military Sealift Command ships completed the at-sea offload of more than 350 pieces of equipment and supplies belonging to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Thailand.
The cargo, including wheeled and tracked vehicles, ammunition and supplies, will be used in Cobra Gold – an annual exercise designed to promote regional stability and security throughout Southeast Asia. Maritime propositioning ships USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin arrived off the coast of Chuk Samet, Thailand April 27. Anchored about three miles from shore, Lopez and Martin offloaded a total of 16 pieces of lighterage – a type of barge used to move cargo from ship to shore – Apr. 27. Six pieces of this lighterage were pieced together to form a 180-foot by 63-foot floating platform called a roll-on/roll-off discharge facility, which was placed at the end of Lopez’s stern ramp. Offload operations began April 28 as rolling stock was driven down Lopez’s ramp onto the floating platform and then onto powered lighterage, which transported the cargo to shore. Containerized cargo was lifted onto the powered lighterage for transport ashore by one of Lopez’s three shipboard cranes. A complex operation, this offload involved multiple Navy and Marine Corps commands including MSC, the 3rd MEF, Naval Beach Group One, Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One and Amphibious Construction Battalion One. The ability to offload cargo at-sea is necessary when operating in areas when port facilities are either nonexistent or too damaged or primitive for ships to pull pierside. Martin and Lopez will remain in Thailand through early June to backload their prepositioned cargo.
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