Haiti: Psst! Want to get into the disaster relief shipping business?

Hey, buddy! Want to get into the disaster relief shipping business?

Got a few thousand lying around?

An opportunity exists here to acquire a landing craft type vessel suitable for toting deck loads of containers to various beaches...

LOA: 170' (51.8 m)
Year: Mfg-1999 Model-1999
Mfg. Length: Mfg: MARINER MARINE
Model: Landing Craft
Draft: Max 7' (2.1 m)
Speed: / 11 knots
2xCaterpillar 3412 671 HP
Tonnage: 422
Fuel Cap: 40000 g (151400 l)
Water Cap: 15000 g (56775 l)
Sleeps: 9
Holding Tank: 2000 g (7570 l ) Heads: 2
Flag: St. Kitts

Asking price is $1,900,000 US...

And, you know, Haiti and many islands in the Caribbean are in seismic hot spots...

In the meantime, Crowley Marine has been moving cargo to the shore, as noted here:

Crowley Maritime Corporation, working under contract with the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), successfully discharged 12 20-foot containers of relief supplies across a beach in Port-au-Prince, Haiti today in an experimental lightering operation. The success of this operation, which involved lifting the containers from a Crowley container ship anchored in the harbor to a smaller, shallow-draft landing vessel for transport and discharge over the beach, paves the way for container shipments directly into Port-au-Prince next week.

"Today's operation was an important milestone in reestablishing direct container shipments into the heavily damaged port," said John Hourihan, Crowley's senior vice president and general manager of Latin America services. "The port survey conducted Monday by a team from our TITAN Salvage subsidiary was spot on in terms of identifying a suitable location in the port where we could safely discharge the cargo."

"USTRANSCOM values the innovative solutions that our contractors are implementing to rapidly facilitate humanitarian assistance in support of the Haitian people," said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Lally, director of operations for the command.

The Crowley container ship Marcajama, which offloaded the containers today, is scheduled to return to Port Everglades, Fla. over the weekend and load more relief cargo under contract with USTRANSCOM. The ship will then return to Port-au-Prince in the middle of next week and discharge containers via the proven lightering method utilizing two shuttle vessels.

Future cargo operations in the port should improve substantially in the coming weeks. Crowley is mobilizing two 400-foot-long, 100-foot-wide flat deck barges, along with two Manitowoc 230-ton crawler cranes in the United States for USTRANSCOM that will be brought into Port-au-Prince to serve as a makeshift dock for future cargo operations. The first barge and crane in Orange, Texas should arrive in Haiti on or about Feb. 4. The second deck barge is being outfitted in Lake Charles, La. and will arrive by mid-Feb.

"The diverse resources of the Crowley organization are being brought to the table in response to this emergency," Hourihan said. "We are working closely with USTRANSCOM, USAID, FEMA and other organizations to provide the assets, services and technical expertise they need to accomplish their missions."

Relief cargoes are being consolidated and stuffed into containers at Crowley's Miami warehouse and distribution center. Containers delivered by Crowley in Rio Haina, Dominican Republic this week are being trucked over the border into Haiti. And more shipments - 179 20-foot containers and 11 40-foot containers for USTRANSCOM - are due in Rio Haina Sunday morning.

"The combination of direct shipments into Port-au-Prince and shipments into Rio Haina that are then trucked over the border is now resulting in a steady flow of aid," said Hourihan.

Other material is flowing through military channels, including the US Army and Navy working as a team:

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Jan. 29, 2010) U.S. Navy Seabees assigned to Navy Cargo Battalion (NCHB) 1 and U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 97th Transportation Company load pallets of water aboard U.S. Army landing ship Aldie (LCU 2004). Aldie is delivering relief supplies to Haiti from the ferry landing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Naval Station is a logistical hub providing support for Operation Unified Response, a joint operation providing humanitarian assistance following a 7.0 Magnitude earthquake that devastated the country Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton/Released)

100129-N-7918H-053 GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Jan. 29, 2010) A Navy Seabee assigned to Navy Cargo Battalion (NCHB) 1 steps out of the U.S. Army landing ship Aldie (LCU 2004), assigned to the U.S. Army 97th Transportation Company. The Seabees and Soldiers are loading pallets of water for transportation to Haiti to support Operation Unified Response, a joint operation providing humanitarian assistance following a 7.0 Magnitude earthquake that devastated the country Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton/Released)

CARIBBEAN SEA (Jan. 28, 2010) Sailors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) transfer pallets of food rations from Carter Hall to U.S. Army Landing Craft Unit 2001. Carter Hall is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hendrick Dickson/Released)

And some JLOTS equipment in action:

Equipment operators assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) Seven offload equipment from Naval vessels anchored near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. NMCB Seven is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nicholas Lingo/Released)

Whatever works.

Special ACB2 UPDATE:

Sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 bring cargo into the port of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Causeway Ferry 116. The cargo was offloaded from the Military Sealift Command maritime prepositioning unit USNS 1st. Lt. Jack Lummus (T-AK 3011) and is supporting Operation Unified Response, a humanitarian assistance effort to Haiti in the aftermath of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Logistics Support Specialist 1st Class Kelly Chastain/Released)

BAIE DE GRAND GROVE, Haiti (Jan. 28, 2010) A Seabee assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2, embarked aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), removes rubble from a collapsed church in Baie De Grand Grove, Haiti. Carter Hall is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Monique Hilley/Released)

A Haitian boy watches as Seabees assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 offload pallets of meals-ready-to-eat from Landing Craft Unit (LCU) 1663. The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) is on station in Haiti along with the amphibious dock landing ships USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), and USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) as the Bataan Amphibious Relief Mission supporting Operation Unified Response, a joint operation providing military support capabilities to civil authorities to help stabilize and improve the situation in Haiti following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the island nation on Jan. 12, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hendrick Dickson/Released)