Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) / X – ◊
What’s Going on With Shipping - Maritime Industry Today
▻https://x.com/mercoglianos/status/2088671520520274205
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🚢What is the issue with USS Abraham Lincoln?
Everyone should have heard about the issues on board USS Abraham Lincoln
▶️Poor food quality on board
▶️Crew members who have jumped or attempted to jump overboard
▶️Extended deployment in a combat zone
The question is why is this happening.
1️⃣LOGISTICS: The loss of bases in Bahrain, UAE and Oman has forced the @USNavy, the Military Sealift Command @MSCSealift and Defense Logisitics Agency @DLAMIL to source stores from bases in East Africa or East Asia.
MSC has committed a fleet of logistics ships to deliver fuel, food, and ammunition, but those ships have to sail thousands of miles, vice hundreds to keep two dozen combatants at sea.
Even at the height of the Second World War, the logistics train used by the Navy was shorter than the one being used now in the northern Arabian Sea.
There is an issue with adequate warehouse and refrigeration storage at Diego Garcia and the ability to deliver stores to that site as there is just one contracted ship in that service.
As the US Navy ships are not making routine port calls in the region, they are completely dependent on stores loaded on a ship in Kenya, Singapore, Japan, or Korea and arriving on board after weeks already afloat.
2️⃣During the Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam, Persian Gulf War and Iraq War, the US Navy understood the concept that ships need down time from combat operations to reset the crew and equipment.
Typical rule of thumb is if you have 3 or 4 carriers deployed, one is back refueling, replenishing and resetting.
The issue in the northern Arabian Sea is that only two carriers are deployed. @ianellisjones from @thewarzonewire
shows Lincoln and Bush in the region with Washington in SE Asia. Two carriers can only provide 24/7 at the expense of the crew, equipment and materiel.
Working on a ship is GROUNDHOG DAY... everyday is the same. No days off, no vacation, and you live where you work. This place a massive strain on everything, particularly the mental stress on young sailors.
Even in WWII, the fast carriers of Task Force 38/58 would only stay at sea for a month at a time. TF 77 off Korea and Yankee Station in Vietnam followed similar models.
3️⃣The underlining issue is fighting a war - and this is a war - with a peacetime Navy and mentality. There are not enough assets in place to support this mission, and this mission is grinding down the readiness of the militart to fight future conflicts.
This is the most challenging naval logistics operation since the British deployed to the Falklands in 1982.
Finally, the @DeptofWar needs to directly address these issues. Have a press conference and show what is going on with the ships in the region.
plus un lien vers X/Trending…
Les familles des passagers de l’USS Abraham Lincoln signalent des conditions difficiles après 260 jours en mer.
▻https://x.com/i/trending/2087964898383008213
