Military Sealift Command has completed its resupply mission in Antarctica with the departure of the MSC chartered ship MV Ocean Gladiator. The mission was in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the Joint Task Force Support for Antarctica mission to the NSF-managed U.S. Antarctic Program, says a press release published on their website.
Cargo offloads
Ocean Gladiator delivered 358 pieces of cargo, which included containers filled with mechanical parts, vehicles, construction materials, office supplies and electronics equipment and vehicles. The supplies are part of two deliveries that will provide nearly 80 percent of the items needed for survival over the severe arctic winter over period when the station is cutoff from the rest of the world.
Ocean Gladiator along with the MSC chartered ship MV Ocean Giant, conducted cargo offloads at the Marine Causeway System (MCS) that was put in place to replace the traditional ice-pier that has been used in years past. The MCS was delivered by Ocean Giant who arrive in Antarctica ahead of Ocean Gladiator. Upon completion of their cargo delivery, Ocean Gladiator retrieved the dismantled sections of the MCS, and loaded it onto the ship, along with 115 pieces of retrograde cargo, that will be returned to Port Hueneme, Calif., where their mission began in early January.
Operation Deep Freeze is a joint service, on-going Defense Support to Civilian Authorities activity in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Mission support consists of active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and Coast Guard as well as Department of Defense civilians and attached non-DOD civilians. ODF operates from two primary locations situated at Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
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Source: Navy
