HSV-2 Swift
Before I go any further, I want everyone to know I’m not talking about swift boats, political ads or defaming anybody. Today’s post is about the HSV-2 Swift (I think HSV stands for high speed vessel - more on that later) and the fact that the HSV-2 Swift sailed into the Port of Monrovia Friday night and, more importantly, I got to go on a tour of it on Saturday.
Unfortunately, the Port of Monrovia was extremely rude in stacking a series of shipping containers right in front of where I could get a great shot of the front of the vessel, so you’ll just have to settle for an online image of what this thing looks like. Cool is an understatement . . .
Fortunately, we were allowed to take photographs so . . . let the tour begin.
The HSV-2 Swift is, as you can see, a hybrid catamaran design vessel intended for high-speed movement in littoral (near coastal) waters. It was one of the first of its design, manufactured in Australia, leased by the US and is referred to as a high-speed wave piercing vessel. High speed as in 45 knots (over 50 mph) and wave piercing as in lower than 15 foot waves. Since it’s of an early design it has some flaws - apparently the catamarans are attached to the remainder of the ships hull through a series of rubber bumpers which leads to what our tour guide described as (very strange 6 dimensional movement in rough seas), which is where the HSV-2 Swift got it’s nick name of the Vomit Comet. I don’t think I need to explain further.
She is a non-commissioned ship that is civilian operated but chartered to the US Navy Military Sealift Command. What does that mean? It means that the HSV-2 Swift has a large cargo area and is pre-positioned to provide humanitarian assistance around the world. Here’s a picture of her cargo area:
Recently it’s been making a tour around Africa (I apparently just missed it in Tanzania). In the cargo hold we saw boxes of supplies labeled “Liberia”, “Nigeria” etc. from groups such as the Lions Club International.
Here’s another view to give you an idea of how much can fit in this thing (it’s almost the length of a football field):
She has a crew of approximately 35 - 18 US Navy and 17 Civilian. The Commander and all pilots are civilians. And even though the HSV-2 Swift performs humanitarian relief work, it still has an armament and she was definitely under guard (yes, I'm sure the magazine has ammo in it).
Now, once you got to the top decks, things looked very different. In some ways the dining area and the adjacent seating areas reminded me of the ferry to Zanzibar.
To the very left you can see blue reclining seats that afford a beautiful view out the windows. Our tour guides told us, however, that the mess hall food was, well, mess hall food. You get tired of it very quickly. They also said that when the Swift is in Vomit Comet mode, you don’t feel like eating anyway.
Living accommodations are cramped and the halls are narrow, and they didn’t make for any interesting photographs.
As you might expect, the command center was a technological marvel. Computer screens everywhere and dozens of ways to communicate within and outside of the ship.
Now, one of the most interesting things about the ship is how you pilot it. Guess which control you use to steer the ship?
Now, if you guessed that itty-bitty silver steering wheel in the center of the photograph, you guessed right! And if you go back to the photograph just above, you’ll see a blue chair in the center of the group by itself, that’s the Captain’s chair, and he has a clear view of the steering wheel as well as the propulsion controls.
On the back end of the vessel is a helipad. Here I am by the flag enjoying a nice, cool breezy Monrovia afternoon.
Like I said, it was hard to get a good photograph of the whole ship - it was pretty much surrounded by containers - but here’s my efforts. Here’s the front (my shoulder was against a shipping container):
And here’s a view of the rear:
She’s much more elegant from the front. But why couldn’t they have parked her facing the other direction, that what I want to know!