PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- The 599th Transportation Brigade facilitated discharge and staging of cargo arriving from the Philippines on the M/V Cape Hudson here in support of Pacific Pathways exercises on June 12.
"The ship docked at the Fleet Logistics Center at about 11:30 a.m., and we conducted the safety brief for the offload at 12:30 p.m.," said Davey Flores, 599th traffic management specialist.
Connor Sullivan, Cape Hudson chief mate, said the ship's voyage began on Jan. 10 when it first went to the Philippines to deliver cargo. He said the ship had been to Okinawa and then back to the Philippines again before coming to Hawaii.
Work on the offload began at 1 p.m. with unlashing cargo, after which 25th Infantry Division, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade personnel began discharging the cargo about 1:30 p.m.
Because the Cape Hudson has both ship's cranes and a stern ramp, it was able to simultaneously lift off containers over the side, while Soldiers used the ramp to drive off rolling stock and tow off helicopters.
Flores was in charge of the 599th crew on scene.
"I had Sgt. Nashell Mendez count pieces coming off the stern ramp, while Sgt. Jeffrey Malone counted containers that were lifted off and documented pieces that were staged on the pier," said Flores.
"The personnel at Fleet Logistics Center were very helpful in assisting us with tracking down the cargo," Malone said. "They also helped us find the TCNs [transportation control numbers] on every label. That helped us identify the cargo."
The last vehicle to leave the ship was a mobile crane, which was dead lined, and had to be towed off by a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) wrecker.
"Aside from the dead-lined vehicles, the move went very smoothly," said Mendez. "The ship's crew were a big help in the offload."
The ship's crane lifted the last container off the ship at 6:40 p.m.
Once they completed the offload, 25th CAB personnel drove the rolling stock and flew the helicopters back to Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield.
After the discharge was complete, the Cape Hudson remained here for a couple of days for repairs.
The ship's crew encountered some difficulty with the original stow plan as designed coming in from Asia because several Stryker vehicles were blocking a locker they needed to effect repairs. Ship's crew and 25th CAB staff were able to put the vehicles in neutral to move them enough to access the lockers.
The Cape Hudson departed at 6:15 p.m. on June 15.
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