SCUTTLEBUTT

AT ANCHOR, USS ARCTIC RECEIVES A SHIP ALONGSIDE FOR AMMO
by Ensign James Cook

USS ARCTIC and her dedicated crew are all about customer service and being flexible. A unique evolution was conducted recently in the Greek archipelago that called on these qualities and demonstrated ARCTIC's primary mission of replenishment and logistics support.

The objective required transferring approximately twenty pallets of practice mine shapes from USNS MOHAWK, an ocean going tug, to USS ARCTIC, a fast combat support ship. Just over two hundred feet long, MOHAWK did not have the capability to pass the mines while underway in a connected replenishment configuration. Her flight deck was also fouled with equipment that eliminated the option of VERTREP, with a helicopter moving supplies between ships. This posed a dilemma with MOHAWK unable to perform the most common methods of replenishment at sea. However, ARCTIC "Always Ready" had a solution. 

ARCTIC's Deck Department was heavily engaged in this seldom performed event that resulted in a successful transfer. Fitted with four 5 X 6 feet tubular fenders that are housed on the O3 weather deck, Deck Department personnel rigged them at the waterline to facilitate bringing MOHAWK alongside. In order to safely complete the evolution though, ARCTIC anchored off shore. Then, USNS MOHAWK made a steady approach, breasted to ARCTIC's port quarter, and moored alongside to begin the ammo transfer. Second Division operated the twelve ton aft boom that lifted mines from MOHAWK and lowered them onto ARCTIC's deck. Gunner's Mates from Third Division drove forklifts and staged the pallets near elevators for storage in magazines below. Capitalizing on teamwork, in less than an hour the mines were aboard and MOHAWK took in all lines to get underway. ARCTIC's 1st Lieutenant and Deck Department Head, LCDR Peppler, was pleased with the replenishment saying it was "a smooth evolution."

USNS MOHAWK as positioned during the mine transfer with ARCTIC at anchor.

Executing a procedure few had ever witnessed, ARCTIC proved her ability to operate under new conditions and cater to customer ships. The event involved the coordination of all hands from the initial anchorage, mooring the ship alongside, and finally transferring mines without incident. An asset to the Navy and Six Fleet while operating in the Mediterranean Sea, USS ARCTIC's confident motto, "Always Ready," rings true. 

Contact USS Arctic Public Affairs - 2NDDIVO@arctic.navy.mil