Joint Base Charleston sends its first relief ship to hurricane-hit Puerto Rico

The first ship carrying hurricane relief cargo from Joint Base Charleston to Puerto Rico left the base Tuesday, bound for the port of Ponce.

The USNS Brittin carried 855 pieces of equipment loaded over the weekend at the base’s Weapons Station, according to Joint Base Charleston. Longshoremen did the loading, with a superintendent from Cooper Ports America on hand, and a line handler from Moran Environmental Recovery released the ship’s lines at the base’s TC Dock, the base said. A Federal Emergency Management Agency logistics planner inventoried items as they went aboard.

The Army’s 841st Transportation Battalion worked with FEMA and other agencies for the past couple of weeks to move the equipment and supplies, said Lt. Col. Chad Blacketer, the battalion’s commander.

“That effort culminated when we finished loading the [USNS Brittin] and it departed,” he said, according to the base.

The ship is scheduled to make several trips between the base and Puerto Rico over the next few months, according to the base. The first load carries essentials such as food, water and vehicles to reach areas where mudslides have cut off access. Later trips will carry equipment to restore utilities and rebuild infrastructure.

“On this first rotation, we have sourced specialized electrical maintenance equipment and other support supplies while still sending over basic survival support needs such as refrigeration units to cool food and medications,” said Shawny Dallam, a FEMA transportation specialist. Dallam said later trips would bring telephone poles to help return electricity to the island.

FEMA’s cargo receiving work continues at the installation support base in Charleston in preparation for more sealifts, according to the base.

The ship is the base’s second channel for hurricane aid. Joint Base Charleston’s C-17s delivered more than 1,700 tons of aid, supplies and medical teams after hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the base said, but each airplane can carry only so much.

“To all my fellow Americans in Puerto Rico, help is on the way,” Blacketer said.