Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Sophia Bumps | Capt. Michael Fontaine, Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo (CFAS), inspects repairs of...... read more read more
Capt. Michael Fontaine, Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo (CFAS), visited the installation’s Iorizaki fuel facility Feb. 14 for a tour of the I-4 fuel tank, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) largest fuel tank in the world.
The tank, which was built in March 1982 and holds over 17 million gallons of oil, is temporarily empty as it undergoes the American Petroleum Institute (API) 653 inspection to ensure the tank’s structural integrity.
Fontaine, suited up in a harness and hard hat, climbed down into the empty tank to get a firsthand look at the ongoing work.
“The sheer size of the I-4 tank is astounding,” said Fontaine. “The tank’s storage capacity is impressive on paper, but you truly grasp its enormity when you climb three stories down a vertical ladder and experience it firsthand.”
The API 653 inspection is a yearlong process that occurs every 20 years. The cycle begins by taking the tank completely out of service. The I-4 requires two weeks to drain entirely. A complete cleaning is conducted, including the removal of any unusable fuel or sludge. The tank then must be ventilated and certified as gas-free to allow personnel to safely enter. The cleaning is followed by a detailed inspection by a certified board to report any findings of needed repairs as well as the next estimated inspection.
“This inspection is important because it allows us to ensure the material readiness of this tank and its continued use for refueling operations here in the 7th Fleet,” said Frank Santos, fuels director of CFAS. “I’m glad that the leadership and the team here at CFAS have had the unique opportunity to enter the largest tank in DoD inventory.”
Although the I-4 tank is the DoD’s largest tank in the world, it represents only a portion of the total fuel storage in Sasebo. Even when full of JP-5, the jet fuel it stores, it represents less than 8% of the 218 million gallons of fuel stored at CFAS’s Iorizaki, Akasaki, and Yokose, fuel facilities. CFAS’s fuel storage capabilities make it a major fuel hub for forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) and visiting ships in the U.S. 7th Fleet.
In December 2023, Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center (NAVSUP FLC) Yokosuka transferred operational control of the fuel team in Sasebo to CFAS as part of a worldwide command restructuring of fuels operations from NAVSUP to Commander, Naval Installations Command (CNIC). This transfer of control formally established the CFAS fuels department.
“The primary mission of Fleet Activities Sasebo is to support the U.S. and allied naval forces operating in the Western Pacific region with logistics and fuel. The Sailors, civilians, and Japanese employees of the Sasebo fuels department are absolutely crucial to sustaining our operational fleet and to our commitment to upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Fontaine.
The last cleaning of I-4 took place in December 2004 and the next cleaning and maintenance period is estimated to be in 2044.
For more information, visit www.cnic.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/CFASasebo, or www.navy.mil.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2024 20:17 |
| Story ID: | 464425 |
| Location: | SASEBO, NAGASAKI, JP |
| Web Views: | 341 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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