Fueling-at-sea

UNITED STATES

11.12.2021

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tristan Labuguen 

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)   

PACIFIC OCEAN – USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducted fuelings-at-sea (FAS) with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) Nov. 8, and guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73), Nov. 12.
The U.S. Navy’s FAS capability is a high-risk evolution involving two ships that sail side-by-side with less than 200 ft. of space between the two, requiring precision, professionalism and collaboration between deck, navigation and air departments.
Abraham Lincoln successfully received more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel from Henry J. Kaiser in less than three hours, and provided Port Royal with 100,000 gallons of fuel in less than two hours.
“Setting up the stations to receive or send fuel entails a lot of maintenance beforehand,” said Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2) Jamie Marriot, deck department’s assistant 1st lieutenant. “FAS is our bread and butter. It keeps ships out to sea and the faster we get it done, the less time we’re alongside and the safer it is for the ship.”
At the start of a FAS, one ship pulls alongside another, a line is shot over to establish communications and fuel lines are pulled across to begin the fueling process.
“When we receive fuel, we expect to get 3,000 gallons per hose,” said Marriot. “Six hoses with three stations amounts to 18,000 gallons per minute receiving max pressure from the tanker.”
During a FAS, Abraham Lincoln’s fuel division, or V-4, is responsible for the safe monitoring and handling of jet propulsion (JP-5) fuel using three fuel stations spread across the ship.
“There’s a lot of work that must be done beforehand,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Jonathan Gaxiola, V-4 Division’s below decks leading chief petty officer. “There’s a tank sequence list done prior to an evolution so that our operators know in what order to take on fuel. They consolidate the fuel and get the tanks ready so that when the ship goes alongside, all we have to do is open valves and physically take on fuel and start tracking fuel percentages.”
V-4 Division’s quality surveillance lab collects samples and conducts tests to make sure fuel is at acceptable levels for aircraft on the flight deck.
“The first thing we do when we hook up to the resupply ship we’re taking fuel from is take samples,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuel) 2nd Class Tyler Hall, a quality surveillance lab Sailor. “We test for any type of contamination – water or any particulates that may be in the fuel. We also test the flashpoint to make sure it’s JP-5. These are basic tests to make sure what we’re getting is what we actually want.”
Fuel is constantly monitored by V-4 Division before it is delivered to the flight deck to be used by aircraft.
“Once we’re assured that it’s JP-5 and contamination levels are within a certain range, it
goes down below decks,” said Hall. “From there it gets purified, stripped and filtered and put into service tanks. From those service tanks, it gets put through the service filter and sent up to
the flight deck. By the time it gets up to the flight deck, there’s virtually no contamination.”
Abraham Lincoln not only receives fuel, but has the ability to provide fuel to ships while out to sea using a special FAS station called Station 21.
“One of the unique capabilities of the carrier is that we can support the other ships in our strike group,” said Gaxiola. “In the event that one of our ships in our strike group is low on fuel, and for some reason cannot rendezvous with a tanker, we can issue fuel to compensate. We also have the FAS station where we issue fuel to ships.”
Abraham Lincoln’s ability to fuel-at-sea increases ship movement and adds to fleet
flexibility.
“Being able to take that fuel gives us the ability to stay out longer, operate longer and keep jets in the air longer,” said Hall. “We’re able to do our job more efficiently and more consistently than our competitors, and as long as you’re doing your job better than your adversaries, you’re going to win.”
Navigation department provides the precision and professionalism needed during a FAS to keep the ship on the right course.
“A lot of coordination goes into planning this evolution,” said Quartermaster 2nd Class
Steven Pettit, Navigation Department’s assistant leading petty officer. “You have to work with the resupply ship and set a time and place to meet. Every major head of department plays a role in getting the ship the fuel it needs.”
While the conning officer gives orders on the bridge, the master helmsman steers the
ship using skills honed by hundreds of hours of ship-driving time.
“The master helmsman has sensors on a monitor that determine the turn rate which tells whether the ship is leaning port or starboard,” said Pettit. “As a master helmsman, I have gotten to a point where second nature just comes with experience driving the ship. Sometimes I can feel the ship leaning a certain way so I slightly adjust to counter the ship’s movement. It is intuitive. There’s very small room for error when you’re trying to maintain a precise course.”
The combined skill of these departments during a major evolution contributes to the success of Abraham Lincoln’s refueling capabilities while underway.
“I’ve done 200 evolutions on this warship ranging from sea and anchor to FAS and replenishment-at sea (RAS),” said Pettit. “You name it, I’ve pretty much done it. The level of efficiency, knowledge and experience is really showing through some of the Sailors who have been on deployment and the Sailors who are doing it for the first time. They are taking the skills they’ve learned and executing beyond what I thought was going to be possible and surpassing my expectations both on and off the bridge.”
Conducting a FAS with maritime forces is key for interoperability and improved employment during critical missions.

• Date Taken: 11.12.2021
• Date Posted: 12.07.2021 19:26
• Story ID: 410677
• Location: US