Anyone got a list of the new companies/ships? Heard it came out today but can’t find any thing online.
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Would be great to know as well
Am I reading this right? Essentially all this is doing is reDistributing the ships to new contractors and the money was already there. Great little twist of truth by the administration to make everyone believe there’s a big investment coming
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Still no news on which companies got which ships. I wonder if they just kept the status quo or some Unions gain new ships? 7 managers. So Keystone, Crowley government, Ocean Shipholding, Patriot. Missing three others… I wonder if Pasha was successful. Always good to add new managers.
Just a question from a old, retired USN guy here - last time at sea 1987.
The list of RRF ships on Wiki shows 21 “SS” and a few more than that “MV”.
With a lot of years on 600# and 1200# USN steam ships, I wonder if there are really a sufficient number of “steam mariners” still available to man these vessels.
Just asking, and not trying to start any harsh discussion. 
Guessing Pasha, Tote, and PGM
The RRF is a paper RRF and no there are not enough BTs or the equivalent to man them.
Sounds about right. We’ll see. It is disappointing that MARAD still don’t have a plan to replace most of the fleet. Aside from the Cape S they just bought. In the next 5 years most will be 50+. Would have been great if SHIPS Act had a provision to start building new ones. Not even that hard to build them either, just get the blueprints for the Cape S and build 50 of those. Crane, Ramp, and thrusters and they would be sufficient.
Problem is the SHIPS Act has never passed. Just more hot air.
What’s a BT?
Sort of what I assumed. When we reactivated the USS IOWA we had difficulty finding sufficient BTs with knowledge of “M” type boilers, as the Navy had gone to simpler “D” types long before.
Are those old “SS” ships in the RRF still using bunker fuels? Another issue of knowledge.
So, thank you sir for the ‘paper RRF’ clarification
Disappointing. US Shipyards need a boost from the government.
In what sense? Idk any of those ships that have a problem finding mariners when they activate. Things pay great.
Agreed. Maybe during the height of Covid no one would take those jobs right away but still would get filled. The only time they ever had trouble finding people is when they activated most if not all I think in 2020 or 2021. They were calling retirees…
They do actually have (on paper) plans to build new / buy ‘new.’
look here to see if the 51 number makes sense in the end. MARAD is scrapping about 18 ships over next 2 years. And 6 Watson are transferring to MARAD by fall 2026.
https://www.maritime.dot.gov/national-defense-reserve-fleet/ndrf-inventory-archive/june-2025-archive
all SL-7s are toast.
If you get really desperate for work, I’m sure the Brownsville Bone Yard is hiring.
SL-7s are being pumped dry every chance MARAD gets.
Don’t know about the other steamers in the NDRF.
Boiler Tech is an old navy enlisted rating. In the commercial world they are Qmeds or Oilers.
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It’s the new, gender-neutral name for QMED - Fireman/Watertender. See 46 CFR 10.109(b)(3)(ii).
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Isn’t QMED gender neutral…?
There are 5 different types of QMED, each with a different name. You’d know that if you looked at the link I posted.
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