Mobile Base visits Vallejo for repairs in Mare Island Drydock

USNS Montford Point Floated from General Dynamics NASSCO Building Dock

New Navy Ship Makes Appearance in Vallejo | Military.com

Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif. | Jan 07, 2015 | by John Glidden

There is a celebrity currently visiting Mare Island. Her name is the USNS Montford Point and she has quite a noticeable appearance at 765 feet long --big enough to displace 34,500 tons of water. And she is at Mare Island for some rest and repairs. Designated as the first Mobile Landing Platform ship, the Montford Point is part of a new breed of ship built for the United States Navy, while being modeled after the Alaska-class crude oil carrier design.
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"There aren't too many places to park it (in the area)," Christina Snyder, executive vice president of contracts with Mare Island Dry Dock. Mare Island Dry Dock, LLC. operates on an 18+ acre site of land.  The site, located on Mare Island, is the home of both Dry Dock #2 and Dry Dock #3.  Dry Dock #2 is 720 feet long by 96 feet wide,so it is large enough to hold the ship. Both are active concrete graving docks with the largest capacity being a length of 700 feet. Both Dry Docks can accommodate ships under fully loaded conditions.  Mare Island Dry Dock, LLC.  has a secure berthing of up to 1,300 linear feet.

USNS Montford Point, The Navy's New Sea Base

Exclusive Photo: USNS Montford Point, The Navy's New Sea Base

Classified as a Mobile Landing Platform, this 35,000 ton (displacement) converted mega-tanker design will be able to semi-submerge its hull so that no less than three Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercrafts at a time can haul cargo on and off. With individual LCAC "lanes," this mobile pier can move an eye watering amount of cargo and be off to go do it again at another location. Cargo can consist of everything from troops to M1 Abrams main battle tanks, and everything in-between.

While LCACs are coming and going from her starboard side, she can be accepting more cargo from her port side. In this sense the ship is really a mobile pier and many classes of ships, from small craft to the fast moving HSV-2 Swift catamaran to large roll on/roll off logistical ships, can tie up to her and transfer thousands of tons of supplies and material via the her built in cargo ramp. At the bottom of this ramp, and next to the LCAC lanes, there is a large vehicle and cargo deck where material can be staged after before being sent away via hovercraft.

This vehicle and cargo deck area could also work as a large landing deck that can accommodate any helicopter in the American inventory, from the mighty CH-53E Super Stallion to the UH-1Y Venom. When operating aviation assets the ship can carry a large volume of jet fuel and work as a forward arming and refueling point for rotary winged assets.

Mare Island- California’s Gold (704)
After MINSY was BRAC'd in 1998, private companies first tried to repurpose the shipyard facilities for scrapping decommissioned ships, but couldn't compete with Texas yards. Now they focus on ship repair.

New ship repair company to replace existing firm at Mare Island
Mare Island Dry Dock, LLC, recently completed a lease for an undetermined time period for Dry Docks 2 and 3 and will occupy the same 16 acres and existing infrastructure as current tenant Mare Island Ship Yard has, Keadjian said. This company will focus immediately on ship repair work, officials say.
"We've got many things to do to be prepared and as they say in the Navy, 'hit the decks running,' " Mare Island Dry Docks Vice President Steven Park said by phone Monday. "We have been looking for a West Coast, and I do mean West Coast location. We've looked for the last nearly two years for a suitable location."

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