Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC) has added a ninth such U.S.-flag vessel to its fleet.
The roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ship is a former Wallenius-Wilhelmsen large car/truck carrier, the Tulane, built in 2012.
The ship was re-flagged to U.S. registry and renamed ARC Honor in a ceremony conducted with the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Incheon, South Korea.
The vessel is ARC’s fourth large car/truck carrier (LCTC) vessel and is enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Maritime Security Program (MSP) and Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) programs.
Able to carry tracked and wheeled vehicles, helicopters, and other high and heavy project cargoes, M/V ARC Honor “will be among the most capable and militarily useful vessels in the U.S.-flag commercial fleet,” the company said.
“The leadership team at ARC once again is demonstrating its commitment to our industry, to our mariners, and to our nation by bringing this vessel under the Stars and Stripes,” said David Heindel, Seafarers International Union (SIU) president.
“The SIU has been with ARC from the beginning and we’re excited about providing the crew for the ARC Honor.”
M/V ARC Honor has the capability of carrying tracked and wheeled vehicles, helicopters, and other high and heavy project cargoes.
The ship is 755 feet long with a 21-foot high main deck with 194,665 square feet of militarily useful cargo capacity, and a stern ramp rated for cargo weighing up to 320 metric tons.
ARC is a member of the Wallenius-Wilhelmsen group.
The company and its U.S. affiliates own and manage the largest U.S.-flag fleet of Roll-On/Roll-Off vessels.
The ships “provide U.S.-owned, managed, and crewed RO/RO shipping and intermodal services committed to the requirements of the Department of Defense, other U.S. government departments and agencies, and commercial customers,” the company said.