U.S. Navy To Sideline 17 Support Vessels Amid Growing Shortage Of Civilian Mariners

The U.S. Navy has decided to sideline 17 Military Sealift Command (MSC) support vessels to address a growing shortage of civilian mariners, MSC Commander Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck confirmed on November 21.

The move, approved by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro on October 30, aims to ease the operational pressure on mariners and boost the Navy’s logistic readiness.

The MSC, responsible for manning 140 logistics and support vessels, has faced increasing demands and workforce challenges.

With about 5,500 civilian mariners currently serving, the command struggles to maintain adequate staffing for its 4,500 shipboard billets.

Sobeck said that the current 1.27 mariners per billet leave a little margin, forcing mariners into an exhausting rotational shift with four months at sea and just one month ashore.

The new plan aims to increase the ratio to 1.75 mariners per billet by adding around 600 to 700 mariners to the active pool by sidelining certain vessels. Sobeck added that the realignment is about regaining the mariner pool and ensuring the fleet is ready.

Though the Navy has not yet specified which ships will go into extended maintenance, Sobeck indicated that the sidelined vessels will include Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship (T-AKE), Expeditionary Fast Transports (T-EPF), Fleet Replenishment Oilers (T-AO), Expeditionary Sea Bases (ESB).

Per the reports, this could involve one oiler, a dozen EPFs, and two each of the forward-deployed ESBs and Lewis and Clark–class replenishment ships.

The Navy expects that this move will reduce the number of overdue crew reliefs, improving work-life balance for civilian mariners.

The health of the MSC workforce needs to be restored, says Sobeck, adding that recruitment and retention efforts are underway to eventually bring the sidelined ships back into service.

Navy Secretary Del Toro says they are working overtime to sustain their global mission.

In a similar event, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the UK has also sidelined vessels due to mariner shortages, wage disputes and challenging work conditions.

Sobeck added that as more mariners join the workforce, sidelined ships will return to active service, helping the Navy achieve its goal of 95% manning across all vessels.

Reference: USNI News