US Navy’s Final Expeditionary Sea Base, The 90,000-Ton USNS Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Delivered

The last expeditionary sea base was delivered to the U.S Navy this week in San Diego, boosting the force’s maritime capabilities. General Dynamics NASSCO built the USS Hector A Cafferata Jr. (ESB-8), belonging to the Lewis B. Puller-class.

The USS Hector A Cafferata Jr. is 239 m long and displaces 90,000 tonnes when fully loaded. Its deck spans 52,000 square feet, and it can accommodate several fighter jets such as the MH-53E Sea Dragon, MH-60S Seahawk helicopters, MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and H-1 helicopters. The warship can reach 15 knots and has a range of 9500 nautical miles, with accommodations for 350 personnel.

The Navy has always forward-deployed these Expeditionary Sea Bases, which support the mine countermeasure ships and special operations forces. They provide logistics support from open waters to the shore for an array of military operations.

An official from the Navy said that everyone was happy to have another ESB in the US naval fleet. Three sea bases were put on extended maintenance periods in 2024 by the Military Sealift Command due to a shortage of sailors.

These included the USS Lewis B Puller, the USS Robert E Simanek and the USS Hershel Williams. Through this measure, the Navy ensured that MSC vessels could remain staffed. The Navy is now preparing the return of the 3 ESB ships, along with the new one which recently joined the fleet.

The Lewis B Puller and Hershel Williams are undergoing maintenance in Croatia and the East Coast Repair & Fabrication Shipyard in Newport News, respectively.

Their crew is also receiving training to attain the new certifications required for resuming operations by the end of this year or the beginning of 2027, when both of them would be out of the shipyards and ready for action.

Robert E Simanek is being upgraded at the shipyard in Mobile, Alabama and will remain there till September next year and will likely enter service in November 2027.

Two other expeditionary sea bases, namely the USS John L Canley and USS Miguel Keith, are a part of the U.S Seventh and Fifth Fleets and have remained in theatre.