U.S. Navy’s expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1), from the Military Sealift Command, arrived in Sekondi, Ghana, for a scheduled port visit January 30.
This is the first port visit for Spearhead in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS).
The ship is scheduled to embark members of the host nationals who will work alongside U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment members for maritime security exercises.
Lt. Gary Callahan, APS 2016 deputy mission commander, said: “I am looking forward to working in collaboration with our African partner nations for capacity building and “increased interoperability in maritime domain management.”
Spearhead is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to support the international collaborative capacity-building program Africa Partnership Station.
The 338-foot-long (103 meters) aluminum catamaran is capable of carrying 600 tons of military troops, vehicles, supplies, and equipment, and can transit 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. It has a 20,000-square-foot mission bay area that can be reconfigured to carry a containerized portable hospital, supporting disaster relief or transporting tanks and troops.
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