Sealift Incorporated

Sealift Incorporated
Company typeCorporation
IndustryShipping
Founded1975[1]
Headquarters
Oyster Bay, NY
,
USA
Key people
John Raggio, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ragnar Knutsen
Alan Alder
Fred Isaksen
Websitehttp://www.sealiftinc.com

Sealift Incorporated is an American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York.[2] The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives.[1] Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement.[1] Between the start of fiscal 2000 and the first quarter of 2008, Sealift Inc. was awarded US$402,151,046 in contracts.[3]

Sealift's main fleet consists of eleven ships: container ships, general cargo ships, and a combination general/container ship. The fleet has ships from 12 to 39 years of age, includes two steamships, and three small ships under 10,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT). Separate from the main fleet, the company also owns the ex-US Navy MSC HSV-2 Swift. In 2015 Swift was sold to the United Arab Emirates' National Marine Dredging Company. On 1 October 2016, she was reported to have been severely damaged by an anti-ship missile in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, off the coast of Yemen.

Sealift Inc has collective bargaining agreements with the Seafarer's International Union and the American Maritime Officers union.[4]

History

Originally a shipbrokerage house specializing in paper, rice, and general cargo, Sealift Inc operated breakbulk liner services to the Mediterranean and from Brazil.[2] The company currently operates a fleet of twelve U.S.-Flag, ocean-going and is one of the largest ocean transportation contractors for U.S. Government Food Aid cargoes.[2]

Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement.[1] This program, also known as VISA, supplies the Pentagon with private cargo vessels which it can use to support "contingency deployments."[1] The program saves the government the cost of maintaining a large fleet that would be idle in peacetime.[1] In 2003, the company was awarded an emergency three-month, $4 million contract from USAID to provide freight service to Iraq.[1]

Between the beginning of fiscal year 2000 and the first quarter of fiscal 2008, Sealift Inc. was awarded US$ 402.15 million in 207 separate transactions.[3] $355.69 million was allocated from the Department of the Navy, $24.61 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development, and $21.85 million from the Department of the Army.[3]

Fleet

Sealift Inc. fleet
Name[5] Type[5] Built[5] GT[5] DWT[5]
MV Advantage[6] Container/General July 1, 1977 18,296 27,750
MV Ascension[7] General January 1, 1993 3,972 4,152
MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296)[8] Container October 1, 1984 29,226 41,812
MV TSgt John A. Chapman[9] Container January 1, 1978 26,409 27,192
SS Cleveland[10] General October 1, 1969 15,836 22,568
MV Maj Bernard F Fisher[11] Container 1985 34,318 34,100
MV Harriette[12] Bulk carrier April 1, 1978 15,531 25,952
MV Noble Star[13] Container/General July 1, 1977 16,840 24,792
MV Marilyn[14] Bulk carrier April 1, 1978 15,531 25,952
MV Sagamore[9] Container/General July 11, 1996 3,838 5,151
MV Strong Virginian[15] General 1984 16,169 21,541
SS Wilson (1968)[16] General July 1, 1969 15,836 22,568
MV Capt. David I. Lyon (T-AK-5362)[17] Container/General 1996 16,803 22,878

Sealift's primary fleet consists of eleven ships, each of which is a container ship, a general cargo ship, or a combination general/container ship.[18] ranging from 12 to 39 years of age.[18] The two steamships SS Wilson (1968) and SS Cleveland (1968) are the oldest, having been built in 1969.[18] The newest ship is the MV Sagamore which was built in 1996.[18] The average age for all of Sealift's ships is slightly over 27 years.[18]

The company's fleet has a capacity of over 250,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT).[18] The MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296) and MV Maj Bernard F Fisher are the two largest at 41,812 t DWT and 34,100 t DWT respectively.[18] The company operates two small ships under 10,000 DWT: the MV Ascension and the MV Sagamore.[18]

The company previously owned and operated the oil tanker MT Montauk which carried jet fuel and other petroleum products between South Korea and Japan under a charter from Military Sealift Command.[19] but sold the ship to the Cypriot company Kalia Maritime Co. Ltd. on February 1, 2007.[20]

As of 2015, HSV-2 Swift was reported to have been sold to the United Arab Emirates' National Marine Dredging Company. On 1 October 2016, the ship was attacked and seriously damaged off Yemen. Houthi rebels claimed the ship sank.[citation needed] According to unnamed US Department of Defense officials, the damaged ship was being towed to Eritrea.[21] The vessel sustained serious damage to its bow, but remained afloat.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Windfalls of War - The Center for Public Integrity". Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  2. ^ a b c Sealift Inc 2008, Home Page.
  3. ^ a b c USAspending.gov 2008, Contracts to SEALIFT HOLDINGS INC (FY 2000-2008).
  4. ^ American Maritime Officers (November 2004). "Non-union operator wins charter held by Sagamore". AMO Currents. Archived from the original on 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sealift Inc 2008, U.S. Flag Vessels.
  6. ^ "Advantage (7719224)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  7. ^ "MV Ascension at American Bureau of Shipping". ABS Record. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  8. ^ "Capt. Steven L. Bennett (8403975)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  9. ^ a b "TSgt John A. Chapman (T-AK 323) (7806279)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  10. ^ "Cleveland (6902052)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  11. ^ "MV Bernard F. Fisher (247275)". Port State Information Exchange. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  12. ^ "Harriette (7802251)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  13. ^ "Noble Star (7802251)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  14. ^ "Marilyn (7802269)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  15. ^ "Strong Virginian (VN92010190)". Port State Information Exchange. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  16. ^ "Wilson (6908224)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  17. ^ "Sealift to provide one U.S. Vessel Capt. David I. Lyon for transportat". 24 September 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h Citations for individual ship statistics shown in table to the right.
  19. ^ American Maritime Officers (1999). "Sealift Inc. Tanker Added To AMO Fleet". American Maritime Officer. American Maritime Officers. Archived from the original on 2001-07-26. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  20. ^ "Montauk (9941794)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  21. ^ Tomlinson, Lucas (3 October 2016). "US warships sent to area where Iran-backed rebels attacked Saudi-led coalition ship". Fox News.
  22. ^ "Swift battered but not sunk in attack". 6 October 2016.

References