Story and photo by Keiichi Adachi, CFAY Public Affairs

Recently, U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) conducted a pair of docking maintenance availabilities for two U.S. Army Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 2000 series ships, LCU 2007 and LCU 2009, at Dry Dock 1.

“I have worked for 17 years at SRF-JRMC and this is the first time I have conducted docking evolutions for Army vessels,” said SRF-JRMC Dock Master Masaki Fukuda.

Army LCUs transport wheeled and tracked vehicles, containers, and outsized and general cargo from ship to shore, as well as coastal, harbor, and inter-coastal waterway areas inaccessible to oceangoing vessels. An LCU 2000 has a cruising range of 10,000 miles and can sustain a crew of two warrant officers and 11 enlisted personnel for up to 18 days. This class is equipped with an aft anchor to assist in retracting from the beach, according to Lt. David Armandt, Ship Superintendent assigned for the LCUs.

The Army keeps a contingent of LCUs at their Yokohama North Dock facilities. Commercial companies in Yokohama usually dry-dock the Army’s LCUs. However, by using SRF-JRMC dry docks and facilities, the Army saved nearly $100,000 per docking. These dockings may just be the first of many in a closer working relationship between the Army and Navy in Japan.

Charles West, a Ship Surveyor with the 403rd Army Field Support Battalion–Northeast Asia (AFSBn-NEA) located at Yokohama North Dock, said that the normal dry dock cycle for Army vessels is three years. “We normally use commercial dry docks, but using the dry dock at Yokosuka was better for our scheduling and funding. The main purpose of dry-docking is to repair the depth sounder transducer.”

Armandt who is also a qualified navy diver joined other SRF-JRMC divers during the LCU docking evolutions.

“This is my first time to see a docking evolution and to dive to check block positions under a vessel. This was a good experience and I had a good time. It is a unique opportunity to be able to dry dock Army ships at SRF-JRMC. This type of ship is even more special,” said Armandt.

This rare docking opportunity gave SRF-JRMC the ability to demonstrate its dry docking capabilities to the Army.

1st Sgt. Jason Senders, Marine Maintenance Non- Commissioned Officer in Charge at the 403rd AFSBn- NEA, observed all the docking evolutions. He offered, “Services by SRF-JRMC were excellent. Everyone on the docking team was very professional and helpful. Jobs were completed in a timely manner and were of excellent quality.”

“A smooth docking requires adequate planning and preparation by both ship’s force and SRF-JRMC. The best moment is when you hear the ship has landed safely on the blocks. Definitely, landing the ship safely is the best part,” said Docking Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mark Schuchmann.

“The key element to a successful evolution is teamwork. All team members from pusher boat crews to line handlers need to do their best to execute the docking evolution well.” according to Schuchmann.

West stated that SRF-JRMC and Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Port Operations personnel are very professional, technically competent, and safety oriented. “We extend our thanks and appreciation to everyone at SRF-JRMC and CFAY Port Operations for their assistance in repairing our vessels.”