page_title: MV TransAtlantic
section_title: Diego Garcia charter
hierarchical_section_title: MV TransAtlantic / History / Under the United States flag / Diego Garcia charter
caption_attribution_description: Container ship Motor Vessel Baffin Strait. IMO Number: 9148520 Length: 101 m Beam: 16 m
context_page_description: MV TransAtlantic is a U.S.-flagged container ship owned and operated by TransAtlantic Lines LLC. The 100-metre long ship was built at Wuhu Shipyard in Wuhu, China in 1997 as Steamers Future. Originally owned by Singapore's Keppel Corporation, she has had three owners, been registered under three flags, and been renamed ten times.
  From 2004 to 2009, the ship, under the name Baffin Strait, was one of Military Sealift Command's seven chartered container ships, and delivered 250 containers every month from Singapore to Diego Garcia. During this charter, she carried everything from fresh food to building supplies to aircraft parts, delivering more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year.
  After finishing the Diego Garcia contract, the ship sailed from Singapore on 19 November 2009 for a shipyard period in Wilmington, North Carolina by way of the Suez Canal. In May 2010, she was towed to Ciramar Shipyard in the Dominican Republic for more extensive repairs.
context_section_description: In 2004, TransAtlantic Lines outbid Sealift Incorporated for the contract to haul cargo between Singapore and Diego Garcia.  The route had previously been serviced by Sealift's MV Sagamore which was manned by members of American Maritime Officers and Seafarer's International Union.  TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about $2.7 million.
  As a result of winning this contract, the US Navy gave the Baffin Strait the  hull classification symbol T-AK W9519.  The T-AK series symbol is given to the seven container ships chartered by MSC but owned and operated by contractors.
  The Baffin Strait's Diego Garcia charter ran from 10 January 2005 to 30 September 2008 on a daily rate of $12,550 under contract number N00033-05-C-5500.  Nicknamed "the DGAR shuttle", the ship delivered 250 containers each month from Singapore to Diego Garcia, carrying everything from fresh food to building supplies to aircraft parts, and delivering more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year."  When returning from Diego Garcia, the ship carried metal waste to be recycled in Singapore.
  The Sealift Program Office's mission is to provide high-quality, efficient and cost-effective ocean transportation for the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies. The program is divided into three project offices: Tankers, Dry Cargo, and Surge.  Dry cargo is shipped by U.S.-flagged commercial ships. Approximately 80 percent of this cargo is transported aboard regularly scheduled U.S. commercial ocean liners.  The other 20 percent is carried by four cargo ships under charter to MSC.
  On the evening of 22 April 2009, Baffin Strait was involved with a collision with the car carrier Jasmine Ace while both vessels were anchored in Singapore.  A severe squall moved into the area while Jasmine Ace was taking fuel.  The squall caused the ship to drag its anchor.  The car carrier drifted downwind, causing its starboard quarter to strike Baffin Strait's starboard side.   As a result, Baffin Strait's anchor also began to drag, and the crew dropped a second anchor to hold the ship.  The two ships were "married for several minutes", during which time the Jasmine Ace started her engine.  The Baffin Strait's damage included "disfigured" steel on the starboard bulwark and damage to the starboard running light.
  On 27 March 2009, Military Sealift Command announced a request for proposals (number N00033-09-R-5502) for the Diego Garcia service.  The charter contract would be for a one-year probation period, followed by three one-year options, and concluding with an eleven-month option.  The fixed-price time charter would be supplemented by reimbursements for costs such as the ship's fuel.  The RFP stipulated that the charter would be awarded to the lowest-priced proposal which the Navy found technically acceptable.
  Six companies submitted proposals, with TransAtlantic proposing the MV Rio Bogota (which it intended to rename Heidi B) to replace the Baffin Strait.  While the Navy was assessing the proposals, rival shipping company Sealift Incorporated secured the rights to operate Rio Bogota, and TransAtlantic countered by altering its proposal to offer the ship MV LS Aizenshtat instead.  The Navy deemed both companies' proposals technically acceptable and their past performance satisfactory.  Sealift's proposed rate, was more than $3 million less than TransAtlantic's ($39,031,093 versus $42,415,356), and they were awarded the charter.  After winning the contract, Sealift purchased Rio Bogota on 21 August 2009.
caption: Baffin Strait during the MSC charter.
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