COLUMN | US Army vessels in the vanguard of Gaza relief effort [Naval Gazing]

The US Army is usually perceived as being an exclusively land-based force. Few realise that the service incorporates a 135-vessel-strong maritime contingent under the auspices of the US Army Transportation Command.

This fleet features a very wide range of vessels, including landing craft, support ships, maintenance vessels, and small raiding craft. It supports amphibious warfare as well as carrying out routine transportation and replenishment tasks. The fleet can take part in opposed landings, conveying troops, and armoured vehicles, while some of the larger vessels are helicopter-capable.

The force deploys regularly, although long-range deployments are rare. However, US Army vessels are now taking a lead role in bringing relief to Gaza, which has suffered catastrophic damage and mass casualties during the course of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Flotilla underway

In early March 2024, a flotilla of five US Army vessels set out from their base in Virginia on a mercy mission to Gaza. The ships involved are the landing ship vehicles (LSVs) SP4 James A. Lioux and General Frank S. Besson and the landing craft utility vessels (LCUs) Wilson Wharf, Monterrey, and Matamoros. Also on passage to Gaza is the civilian-manned military support ship ex-USNS Roy P. Benavidez.

The relief flotilla will be carrying equipment needed to set up a temporary pier, which is vital for the relief effort as Gaza has no port. This equipment includes components to set up the type of landing pier typically used for military operations, while Embarked US Army will carry out the necessary work.

The engineers will be joined by a 1,000-strong team of US Navy beach landing support specialists.

The plan

The plan is to set up a receiving facility capable of handling stores required to provide two million meals per day by early May. Cyprus has been identified as a focus for transshipment of necessary goods.

A barge loaded with 200 tonnes of stores has already been towed to Gaza by the charity-owned vessel Open Arms. This ship had previously been employed as an unofficial migrant rescue vessel.

Obviously, the mission will face significant force protection challenges as various stakeholders in the Gaza conflict might see advantage in obstructing the relief operation and attacking the US ships involved. A likely remote escort for the latter stages of the incoming relief flotilla’s voyage will have to be arranged.

Analysts believe that, once the operation is up and running, a permanent cordon of armed small craft will have to be put into place to guard against interference from persons of ill intent.

Security challenges

Providing protection for the pier will be a delicate operation, and it will be fraught with potential political hazards. It will not be easy, as Washington has promised American voters that there will be no “boots on the ground”.

The pier will be about 250 metres long, meaning that relief operations need not depend entirely upon supply of goods by small vessels. It is planned that large merchant ships will anchor quite near to the end of the pier and that their cargoes will then be ferried in to the pier by smaller craft.

This operation shows once again the extent to which distressed areas of the world still rely upon American funding, resources, and expertise for relief, despite the endless debating in international talking shops.