Erickson has been awarded a contract extension from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to deliver comprehensive replenishment and logistics services for the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC).
The original contract was awarded last year, which had an initial value of $6.8m and four additional option-year renewals, bringing the overall value to $36.6m, if all options are exercised.
Under the extended agreement, Erickson will continue to provide ship-based rotor-wing aircraft to support ship-to-ship and shore-to-ship vertical replenishment (VERTREP).
Erickson chief executive officer Udo Rieder said: "We were proud last year to have been awarded the contract to provide our airlift services to Military Sealift Command to support our navy’s 5th and 7th fleets around the globe.
"We are even more pleased for our national defence leaders to extend our service and exercise their option to entrust us with the important responsibility to provide personnel and cargo transport."
Under the MSC’s VERTREP programme, SA330J Puma helicopters will be placed on civilian cargo vessels to support navy convoys, while also eliminating risky ship-to-ship cargo transfer by supplying essential sustenance, ammunitions and aircraft parts.
This process will increase the presence of vessels and their crew members at sea, and improve safety and boost mission readiness levels.
Operating approximately 110 non-combatant, merchant mariner-crewed vessels that restock US Navy ships, the MSC executes specialised operations, strategically prepositions combat cargo at sea and transfers military cargo and supplies used by deployed US forces and alliance partners.
Image: The MSC’s dry cargo / ammunition vessel USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1) in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo: courtesy of the US Navy.
