Crowley Now Managing Five Military Sealift Command Ocean Surveillance Ships

USNS Impeccable

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s global ship management group has completed the successful turnover of the Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) T-AGOS/T-AGM fleet and is now responsible for the operation and maintenance of the organization’s five T-AGOS vessels.

The vessels included are the USNS Victorious (T-AGOS 19); USNS Able (T-AGOS 20); USNS Effective (T-AGOS 21); USNS Loyal (T-AGOS 22); and USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS 23) — and one T-AGM ocean surveillance ship, the USNS Invincible (T-AGM 24).

The turnover phase began in mid-January, when a team of Crowley employees traveled to Sasebo, Japan, to meet with MSC officials and the incumbent ship manager to discuss the change of management.

“We are thrilled to have completed the official turnover of these high-profile vessels,” said Crowley’s Mike Golonka, vice president, government services. “This seamless transition would not be possible without the hard work and determination of our remarkable government team, and the tremendous support we received from MSC. BZ to all involved.”

The T-AGOS/T-AGM fleet supports the Navy’s Surveillance Towed Array Sensor Systems (SURTASS) operations, the U.S. Air Force’s dual-band, phased array and parabolic dish radars and other government missions.

“We’re representing the United States Navy Military Sealift Command in support of our national defense,” said Crowley’s Rob Petrosino, engineering manager, T-AGOS/T-AGM. “This is a very critical program; we take this contract seriously. We realize what a privilege it is to be able to serve.”

The ships, which are government-owned and civilian-crewed, carry electronic equipment to process and transmit data via satellite to shore stations for evaluation. Victorious is built on a small waterplane, twin-hull, or SWATH, design for greater stability at slow speeds in high latitudes under adverse weather conditions. Impeccable has a hull form based on that of Victorious, but has a more powerful propulsion plant and is designed specifically for deploying an additional active towed-array system.

Here’s more about the ship management contract from Crowley’s Rob Petrosino:

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