New liner service keeps deployment cargo moving.

With the crack of champagne bottles, three roll-on, roll-off ships entered the U.S. flagged commercial fleet to officially begin new missions.

The American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier ships were renamed Motor Vessels Courage, Honor and Integrity in a Sept. 29 ceremony in Baltimore.

In May, ARC began liner service routes between U.S. and Middle Eastern ports. One of the renamed ships entered liner service to the Middle East while the other two vessels were added to the carrier's North Europe service.

The carrier designed their routes around the military's need to move rolling stock in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom deployments, said Lt. Col. Marvin Benoit of the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Fort Eustis, Va.

The deployment operations officer explained that the majority of today's commercial vessels are mainly container ships that don't allow for the rapid load and discharge of roll-on cargo. A liner service for rolling stock adds more predictability to planning deployments and redeployments, he said.

"These routes are especially useful for moving smaller combat-support and combat-service support units, such as engineer, military police and medical units," Benoit said. "These units have less equipment than the major combat units. We can aggregate and move cargo from several units without activating a large military ship."

Each of the three vessels can accommodate between 160,000 and 222,800 square feet of tracked and wheeled vehicles, helicopters, construction equipment, and other tactical vehicles.

Benoit and Terry DeLucia of the Transportation Engineering Agency were among the command's transportation specialists who conducted a technical evaluation of the vessels' capabilities and documented vessel characteristics.

The ship designs will allow for easy operations, DeLucia said.

"We were all impressed by the wide open, box-shaped decks that will make loading and stow-planning easier," DeLucia said. She noted that stanchions are lined up evenly instead of being staggered, which will make it easier to maneuver cargo and to manage deck space efficiently.

The design also facilitates transportation of aircraft.

"The 21-foot door and hoistable decks mean that we can roll Chinooks and other helicopters onto the ship," she said. "On a lot of vessels, helicopters have to be lifted by crane into the holds."

The liner service offers excellent intransit visibility of equipment and should reliably meet required delivery dates, Benoit added.

The three ships formerly served as commercial car carriers, said Ray Ebeling, chairman and president of American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier of Montvale, N.J.

The company's purchase of the three vessels increases its U.S.-flagged fleet to eight ships. All are named for American values and ideals, Ebeling said.

The ships operate under the Maritime Security Program. This federal program is intended to ensure adequate access to American-owned and crewed ships to meet national defense needs.

The vessels also carry commercial cargo.

Patti Bielling, Public Affairs Specialist SDDC Operations Center