The commander of U.S. 7th Fleet (C7F) visited one of Military Sealift Command’s newest class of Maritime Prepositioning Force ships, the expeditionary transfer dock USNS Montford Point (T-ESD 1) at North dock here for a familiarization tour, Oct. 8.
The Montford Point is part of Maritime Prepositioning Ships Squadron Three (MPSRON 3) and provides logistics movement from sea to shore supporting a broad range of military operations. The vessel is one of two ESDs that will be part of the Navy’s “Sea Base” concept that provides the capability to transfer vehicles and equipment at-sea through Sea State 3, improving the U.S. military’s ability to deliver equipment and cargo from ship to shore when land bases don’t exist.
The Montford Point is categorized as an expeditionary floating pier-at-sea; the ship is tasked to the Marine Corps to provide a pier-at-sea move and transfer from Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ship (LMSR) ships to landing craft air cushion (LCAC) to provide the sea basing capabilities to the Navy and the Marine Corps.
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Image: US Navy