America has committed a huge sum – $43.7 billion – to purchase military equipment for Ukraine. Meanwhile, the United States and NATO intensified their joint exercise, Operation Atlantic Resolve, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For the heavy military equipment supply chain crossing the Atlantic, ocean shipping plays a central role, led by one company in particular: US-flagged operator American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC).
According to Chris Heppell, ARC’s Chief of Operations, “We carry the majority of cargo bound (transatlantic) in support of Ukraine, and we also participate in cargo bound in support of the major NATO exercise, Atlantic Resolve.” .
“Between August 2022 and July 2023, we moved approximately 32,000 pieces of equipment — that’s 5 million square feet of equipment — to and from Europe to support these exercises and operations,” Heppell said in an interview with FreightWaves.
Five ships transport military equipment to Europe
ARC, a subsidiary of Norway’s Wallenius Wilhelmsen (Oslo: WAWI), is the largest operator of roll-off (ro-ro) vessels in the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). “Our main client is the military,” said ARC Vice President Charles Diorio.
The company currently has five ro-ro aircraft transporting military cargo to Europe: Patriot, ARC Defender, ARC Independence and ARC Integrity in liner service, and Endurance in Opportunity Service.
According to Heibel, the Endurance “is the only ship in the MSP capable of carrying an entire combat aviation brigade in one lift, so the Army really likes to use it for big, ugly moves. We put it in the Atlantic because that’s where the majority of these big moves are at the time.” Present.
Ukraine-bound shipments transported by ARC include wheeled and tracked vehicles – including Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFVs) – as well as missile systems, including mobile HIMARS systems. A US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) press release showed 60 BFV combat vehicles being loaded onto the ARC Integrity ship in Charleston, South Carolina, in January.
ARC vehicles do not transport loose ammunition or missiles. Equipment such as Stinger missiles are transported via container ships or bulk ships, Heppell said.
US equipment for Ukraine and Atlantic Resolve is loaded primarily at two ports: Beaumont, Texas, and the TC Dock military terminal in Charleston.
Shipping of military equipment to Ukraine began last January, a US Transportation Agency spokesperson told FreightWaves.
Generally, military cargo in Europe is unloaded in Bremerhaven, Germany; Gdańsk and Gdynia in Poland; Aros and Esbjerg, Denmark; Klaipeda, Lithuania; Alexandroupoli, Greece; And most recently, Moja, Estonia.
Military specialists aboard some sailing ships
How do ARC and the military address security concerns given that ARC’s sailing schedules are published on its website and the locations of its ships are visible to anyone using a public ship-tracking service?
“We have regular meetings at the classified and unclassified level with USTRANSCOM,” Haebel explained. “Military Sealift Command is present at those meetings and assesses the threat. In some cases, we carry on board our ships specialized and trained naval personnel. These people come with specialized communications equipment and use this equipment to integrate us with the fleet operating in the area.
“Our crew also trains with these military personnel. They are trained on how to follow maneuvers and how to integrate into the fleet package.
Asked whether Navy personnel were present on board all ARC ships carrying military equipment to Europe, he said it was only in some cases.
“In Central Europe, with our liner services, the threat level is lower than if you were operating in other regions. The bottom line is that they communicate when they want us to carry these (military personnel) packages on board and we gladly accept it and follow all their rules.” .
Equipment moves across multiple modes of transportation
ARC is just part of a much broader supply chain operation that includes many shipowners, air freight, trucking and rail operations.
“U.S. Transportation Command is closely affiliated with commercial carriers for air, land, and sea transportation,” a USTRANSCOM spokesperson said. “ARC, as well as other U.S.-flagged carriers, are routinely contracted to deliver a wide range of cargo for U.S. force rotations and support allies and partners around the world.”
Transatlantic shipping volumes have increased significantly, not only because of shipments to Ukraine, but also because of the Atlantic Resolve movement, which began in response to Russian military action in Ukraine in 2014.
“Operation Atlantic Resolve has been running for years as a joint exercise between NATO and the United States, but they changed the size and scope of the exercise after the invasion of Ukraine,” Heppell said.
Commenting on the different modes of transport used by military cargo, he explained: “A lot of time-sensitive cargo is prioritized and transported by air. The drawback is that air has a limited capacity in terms of the amount you can hold per tire and is expensive.
“Then you also have the goods that are actually supplied within the theatre. There are warehouses in Europe that deliver equipment by rail and truck up to the border (with Ukraine). In the United States, major railways are involved in transporting goods from forts and warehouses to loading ports, as Truck drivers also participate.
“That’s where we play the biggest role in large-scale unit movements. There’s really no other option for an armored brigade combat team other than a ro-ro ship, and the nice thing is that once the cargo is in place, it’s sealed inside the ship so it’s not affected by the weather en route.
While the war has swelled cargo, there is no shortage of ship capacity in the Atlantic. “In terms of overall commercial capacity and military capacity, there is enough sealift right now to support NATO exercise requirements and shipping to Ukraine,” Heppell said.
Specialized ships for transporting heavy machinery
Transporting tanks to Europe is a very different proposition than shipping cars. It requires a different type of ship and involves different loading and unloading challenges.
ARC’s fleet currently consists of nine ro-ro aircraft, eight of which fly the US flag. All US-flagged ships participate in the MSP Agreement and the Voluntary Multimodal Sea Transportation Agreement.
“Our vessels are not pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs),” Diorio said. “They are designed for large-scale equipment and large machinery. We are specifically targeting ships to introduce into our fleet that have high doors and heavy decks that we can use for military cargo.
According to Heppell, “six of our eight U.S.-flagged ships exceed 6.25 meters (20.5 feet) of door height.” The reason we look for ships with this door height is because this is the height you need to carry a CH-47 Chinook (helicopter) and a V-22 Osprey (airplane) in a sea transport configuration. The CH-47, in particular, is part of every Army combat aviation brigade, armored cavalry, or air cavalry unit. Therefore, you must have the ability to handle this type of unit.
“In addition, all of our ships have a ramp strength of 230 tons or more. The reason you need ramp strength is because today’s modern M1 (Abrams tank) weighs 72 tons and you need a ramp strength deck strong enough to hold two M1 tanks, Because if you don’t have specialized equipment at the station, the only thing you can use to recover an M1 when it crashes is another M1, or an M88 (recovery vehicle), which weighs 60 tons.
“The bottom line is that you have to have decks of a certain strength that are higher than you need to carry sedans and SUVs and you have to have a higher deck height than you need to carry standard construction equipment and sedans and SUVs. So, these are special vessels.”
Loading is “more difficult” than business operations
In a typical automobile shipping operation, dock workers (longshoremen) handle the loading and unloading process. Port longshoremen are used for military loading as well, but there is complexity in loading specialized military equipment such as tanks.
“There are two ways to support the loading of specialized military equipment — equipment that requires specialized training to drive — which is primarily tracked vehicles like M1s, M2s and M88s. In most cases, what happens is that these specialized drivers belong to what is called a port support activity,” Heibel said. “It is a group of soldiers who are able to operate this specialized equipment.”
“In addition, in some ports, such as Bremerhaven, we have a contract with a stevedore (company) that has obtained a specialized license for a small number of stevedores to unload tanks without the presence of the military, but this is the exception.” To the base.”
Overall, he said the process of loading military equipment is “much more difficult” than the commercial process.
There’s another difference: Working for a company that supports military operations is not the same as working for a company that handles shipments of Pelotons and flat-screen TVs. ARC personnel play an essential role in supporting troops as Russia wages war in Europe.
“We have a lot of veterans in this company and we have a lot of experience,” Heibel said. “There is a great sense of pride that we help service members deploy to training and operations areas. We take some of the pressure off of them so they can focus on what they need to do once they get to theater.”
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