The MSC fleet of commercial oilers can transport millions of gallons of two types of fuel: F76, for ships and JP5, or jet fuel, for aviation assets. In a job that has mariners dealing with millions of gallons of fuel every day, the safety of Sailors and the environment is paramount.
“We need to make sure (the crew) are properly trained and understand the requirements of the job that they are being assigned to,” said Garth Kirk, a native of Laramie, Wyo., captain of Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler USNS Pecos (T-AO 197). “We also have to make sure that the equipment aboard the ship is up to specifications and works the way it’s supposed to and that we have adequate space and room to receive the cargo.”
Kirk also said it takes lots of monitoring and keeping up with the equipment to make sure that the fuel and cargo stays where it’s supposed to be and goes nowhere else.
The crew of Pecos takes a number of safety precautions at sea and in port to ensure no fuel or toxins can pollute the seas or air while refueling or during normal operations. They install fuel barriers while receiving fuel in port, routinely test fuel hoses for leaks quarterly, test and monitor engine output for air pollutants and conduct safety briefs on safety procedures before and after every evolution.
“To protect from leaks into our oceans all the fueling stations aboard the vessel and all of the flexible hoses are hydro-statically tested before we transfer fuel,” said Travis Ochs, a native of Saint James, N.Y., second assistant cargo engineer for Pecos. “The Deck Department actually disassembles all of the fuel hoses, puts them on the decks, fills them with water and pressure tests them with a pump to check for leaks.”
Not only does the MSC do everything in its power to prevent harm to the environment, but they also do what they can to help clean the environment, by responding to fuel disasters and natural disasters. “A duty,” said Kirk, “that the crew takes to heart.”
“It’s been too many years that the environment has been ignored by previous generations,” he said. “We owe a debt to the next generation to clean up our act and to do things properly and the way they are supposed to be done. It’s a debt to our future.”