JOHN P BOBO

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Latest news

Fire in engine room pushes back pier construction in Gaza

The USNS '2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK 3008)' which was deployed to support the mission of building a pier to deliver aid to starving residents in Gaza, was forced to turn back on April 11, 2024, after it suffered a fire in its engine room, while in transit to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The crew evacuated the area and used portable extinguishers to put out the fire. The ship had to return to Jacksonville, Florida, using just one engine for further assessments. The incident came as the Pentagon's self-imposed deadline of having the pier operational and delivering the needed aid by May rapidly approached. When the Pentagon first announced the plan to use the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, platform to construct the pier that would serve as a way to quickly deliver large amounts of aid to war-torn Gaza in early March, it was hoped the pier would be operational in the next 60 days. Shortly after that announcement, a group of five Army ships left for the Mediterranean, followed by the m/v 'Roy P. Benavidez', a military sealift command vessel that was carrying heavy equipment and material needed to construct a temporary pier. In late March, the Navy said that it would deploy Naval Beach Group 1 along with the Bobo and the USNS '1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez'. The unit and the ships would bring enough watercraft and equipment to operate a huge floating dock three miles off the coast of Gaza that would serve as the off-load point for aid. One of the Army Landing Craft Utility ships, the 'Wilson Wharf', seems to be stuck in Tenerife, the Army's Logistics Support Vessel 'General Frank S. Besson' spent a week in the Azores before finally making it to the Navy's base at Souda Bay, which may indicate the ship had an engineering issue.

AMSEA Awarded US$33-Million Navy MSC Contract

General Dynamics American Overseas Marine LLC (AMSEA) apprises it has been awarded the USD$32.7 million contract modification to operate and maintain seven large, medium-speed, roll-on / roll-off ships (LMSR) for the Military Sealift Command. Under the terms of the modification, AMSEA will provide services including crewing, engineering, maintenance, procurement and provisioning. Initially awarded in 2010, the contract has a potential value of $238 million over seven years.

Auxiliary vessel in search operation for overdue f/v

After the British f/v "Purbeck Isle" was reported overdue on May 17, 2012, at 5.39 p.m. the Portland Coastguard launched a search for the fishing vessel and its three crew involving the Coastguard rescue helicopter based at Portland, a Portland Bill Coastguard rescue team, the Weymouth RNLI lifeboat, the f/v "Betty G II" from Weymouth, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary "Wave Ruler" and HMS "York" as well as the "John P Bobo" which was enroute Skagen. The search was suspended on May 18 at 2 a.m. The three fishermen are feared to have drowned after their 36-ft-boat vanished without trace in the English Channel. It is thought to have broken up suddenly and sunk after getting swamped by choppy seas off Portland Bill, Dorset.