USNS Pililaau Transporting 200 MRAPs to Iraq

The United States Navy's Military Sealift Command reports that it is transporting to Iraq, on one ship, 200 MRAP vehicles (mine resistant ambush protected).

This is the largest single shipment to date, and it is only made possible by the gigantic size of the USNS Pililaau, which left Charleston, South Carolina yesterday with the shipment.

This particular batch of vehicles was produced by Navistar, which will soon be capable of cranking out about 500 MRAPs a month, feeding the various service branches that are hungry for the amazing armored trucks.

They are specially designed to protect troops riding inside from mines, roadside bombs and other threats.

You can clearly see the Navistar/International symbol on the front of the hood in the accompanying picture.

Such large, heavy trucks need large ships, and the USNS Pililaau fits the bill, with 380,000 square feet of room inside. That is about the size of eight NFL football fields, and the ship does not need cranes to get the vehicles inside. Ramps connect it to the shore and there are ramps between decks. The MRAPs are driven on and driven off the ship, helping to speed the vehicles to the troops, who much appreciate the efforts made to get them into Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tom D'Agostino of Sealift Logistics Command says that to move a similar load by air it would take about a month.

Who knows how much of our airlift capacity that would require.

The Pililaau has a largely civilian crew and is designated as a Surge vessel, meaning that it is kept in sort of suspended animation, ready to activate itself within days if its hauling capacity is needed. The Surge Project Office of the USN has activated 50 ships since the attacks of 9/11, in support of our troops overseas.

The Pililaau can make 24 knots and can load other heavy vehicles, like M-1 tanks, helicopters, Bradley armored personnel carriers, and other even more awkward loads. It has cranes to assist in these projects, if necessary. The ship can push its way from the East Coast of the US to the Middle East in about 18 days.