Welding torches make way for MTMC priority cargo.

When the MV Express sailed for Koper, Slovenia, recently, it represented an extraordinary move of Military Traffic Management Command cargo.

Operators of the Swedish-owned Armada Shipping vessel went to unusual lengths to carry a MTMC cargo of 20 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

Using cutting torches, they enlarged the entrance to the ship's side hatch.

"I have never heard of this before," said Rich Shilby, Team Leader of MTMC Operations Division East Team.

"It shows the ingenuity of mariners."

Once the cargo was stowed, the original opening was welded back in place. The side hatch will not have to be cut open again for cargo discharge, said Pete Fejeran, MTMC Operations Center.

"Restrictions on using the vessel's fixed stern ramp in Howland Hook Terminal limited loading operations to using the side ramp," said Fejeran. "With no such restrictions in Koper, the side ramp door will not have to be cut again for cargo discharge."

The cutting and loading took place Aug. 16 at Howland Hook Marine Terminal, Staten Island, N.Y.

The cutting took three hours, said Dave Kottka, transportation management specialist with the 842nd Transportation Battalion, at Fort Monmouth, N.J.

"That's about nine hours faster," Kottka said of the 12-hour estimate given by Armada. After that, loading the helicopters only took a little over three more hours.

Despite the unique loading method used, Sgt. Maj. Melvin Challou, of the 1176th Transportation Terminal Brigade, Baltimore, Md., downplayed the event.

"It's kind of a low-profile operation--two commercial ships, not a super amount of cargo--but it's for an important mission," said Challou.

Armada representatives knew the Express would have to be altered when they placed their bid, said Col. Alison Jameson, Commander, 1176th Transportation Terminal Brigade.

The company's bid was $100,000 below its next-closest competitor.

The biggest challenge facing the ship operators was that the channel at the dock was too narrow to load from the ship's stern ramp, said Maj. Michael Cashner, who observed the loading. Cashner assumed command of MTMC's Fort Monmouth port unit Aug. 24.

Armada was committed to securing the contract, said Tim Pickering, Cargo Operations Manager, Military Sealift Command.

"Every time we threw up a roadblock, they found a way around it," said Pickering.

In addition to the Blackhawks, 5,300 measurement tons of other cargo was loaded on the Express.

Earlier, the 596th Transportation Group had loaded cargo in Beaumont, Texas, which included OH-58 Kiowa helicopters.

The cargo will support the upcoming rotation of the 29th Infantry Division to peacekeeping operations in Bosnia. The National Guard division is composed of units from Maryland and Virginia.

Howland Hook is an ideal strategic deployment site, said Cashner.

"We are ideally situated here to support Fort Dix, N.J., and also the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y.," said Cashner.

Howland Hook has been used for most MTMC equipment movements since the closure of the Bayonne Military Ocean Terminal in September 1999.