MSC Chartered Ship MV Ocean Giant Arrives in Port Hueneme for Operation Deep Freeze Off-Load

UNITED STATES

03.10.2023

Story by Sarah Cannon 

Military Sealift Command Pacific

Military Sealift Command-chartered container ship MV Ocean Giant has arrived Port Hueneme, Calif., following its mission to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze (ODF) 2023.

The stop in Port Hueneme marks the end of Ocean Giant’s support of ODF. While in Port Hueneme, Ocean Giant will conduct cargo offload of retrograde materials—including station waste and recyclables, returned from McMurdo station, as well as ice-core samples that will be used in scientific study. Ocean Giant was in Antarctica as part of MSC’s annual resupply mission in support of the Joint Task Force Support for Antarctica mission to the NSF-managed U.S. Antarctic Program.

The offload is the final step in Ocean Giant’s support of ODF. Their mission began in late December, with a loadout of dry cargo in Port Hueneme, Calif., where the cargo was loaded before delivery to Antarctica. The ship arrived at the NSF ice-pier, where the cargo offload was conducted by Seabees from Navy Cargo Handling Battalions ONE and FIVE. Four Hundred forty three pieces of cargo, which included containers filled with mechanical parts, vehicles, construction materials, office supplies and electronics equipment and vehicles were offloaded in Antarctic The supplies will provide nearly 80 percent of the items needed for survival over the severe arctic winter over period when the station is cutoff from the rest of the world.

In addition to traditional cargo, Ocean Giant delivered a 65-ton Marine Causeway System that was offloaded, assembled and used as a pier, replacing the traditional ice-pier used for cargo operations, that was damaged and unusable this year.

Operation Deep Freeze is a joint service, on-going Defense Support to Civilian Authorities activity in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Mission support consists of active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and Coast Guard as well as Department of Defense civilians and attached non-DOD civilians. ODF operates from two primary locations situated at Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. An MSC-chartered cargo ship and tanker have made the challenging voyage to Antarctica every year since the station and its resupply missions were established in 1955.

• Date Taken: 03.10.2023
• Date Posted: 03.10.2023 12:42
• Story ID: 440148
• Location: US