{"id":41977,"date":"2019-09-21T13:26:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-21T13:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/21\/heres-every-ship-activated-for-transcoms-massive-sealift-surge-and-what-it-does\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:18:13","slug":"heres-every-ship-activated-for-transcoms-massive-sealift-surge-and-what-it-does","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2019\/09\/21\/heres-every-ship-activated-for-transcoms-massive-sealift-surge-and-what-it-does\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s every ship activated for TRANSCOM\u2019s massive sealift surge, and what they do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Transportation Command announced this week the largest simultaneous activation of sealift vessels<\/a> in its history, a stress test of the aging logistics fleet that would be called upon to move up to 90 percent of Army and Marine Corps equipment in the event of a major conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bulk of the ships activated are the Ready Reserve Force. That group of 46 ships is permanently kept in a reduced operating status, to be activated on short notice. The Maritime Administration<\/a> has repeatedly warned that the ships are aging and difficult to man due to obsolete equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, 22 of the 28 ships activated for the exercise are from the Ready Reserve Force, which is about 48 percent of the fleet. Crewing those ships has been an increasing challenge in recent years due in part to the requirements on mariners to maintain licenses to operate steam-powered ships, which have all but disappeared from the commercial sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\t