U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet Services and Capabilities Facility The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) shore-side facility is located at the foot of Lake Herman Road, off Interstate 680 in Benicia, CA. The Facility consists of an access road from the Benicia Industrial Park to the Facility parking lot. The parking lot, surrounded by a security fence, is used for employee and visitor parking, and material storage. Access is screened for unauthorized persons at the gate. From the parking lot, a 1500’ pier constructed in 1996 extends out into Suisun Bay and serves as the transition point from shore-side facility to waterside facility. The pier was designed and constructed to CalTrans HS-20 standards, has an 18’ wide roadway, and allows for fully loaded tractor-trailer rigs to deliver material to and pick up material from the Fleet. An 80’ x 100’ pierhead allows for truck turn-around, loading/offloading, temporary vehicle parking, small craft access, and houses the main electrical distribution system. Sewer, water, telephone and 12KV electrical feed are conveyed down the length of the pier in a covered utility trench. Moored to the end of the pier is an ex-Navy APL, a 250’ messing and berthing barge converted for use as SBRF Headquarters. With its three decks, it houses SBRF offices, HVAC plant, shops, storerooms, and employee facilities. Adjacent to the north side of the pierhead is a floating berth system that provides for mooring and personnel access to the Fleet’s service craft. Anchorage The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet is located in General Anchorage #26, on the Northwest side of Suisun Bay (see NOAA navigation charts # 18657 and 18658). The anchorage extends approximately 4 ˝ nautical miles Northeast from the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge, and is approximately ˝ nautical mile wide. Water depths range from about 45’ at Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) at the foot of the anchorage, to about 26’ MLLW at the shallowest berths row-side, towards the upper end of the anchorage. Ship access to the anchorage is from the Bull’s Head Channel, under the Benicia- Martinez Highway Bridge and the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge, located between Army Point and Suisun Point. Inbound ship traffic would proceed North-Northwest from buoy #5 into the foot of the anchorage, then turn to the North-Northeast and proceed up the Eastern boundary of the anchorage. Suisun Bay is tidal, seeing two high and two low tides per day. The tide change ranges about five to six feet, with rare seasonal extremes being observed at approximately –1.0 at low tide, to +6.8 at high tide. The current in Suisun Bay runs at approximately two knots on the average during maximum flood or ebb tides. Mooring Arrangement Ships are moored within the anchorage in nests, also called rows. A nest is initiated by mooring a single ship parallel to the current with the ship’s bower anchors and an SBRF-supplied stern anchor. From there, the nest is built by mooring the next ship along side with its bow placed in the opposite direction, and deploying its bower anchors. The nest continues in this alternating bow/stern configuration predominantly using each ships on-board bower anchors. Larger ships are moored with additional stern anchors as needed. This arrangement has proven to be very secure; the larger the nest, the more secure it is. Prevailing winds blow broadside to the nest, so the length of a row is not much of a factor. The nest/row acts as a single unit, with all of its anchors and chain working in unison to hold the ships secure against the wind and current, allowing no more than approximately 50’ of movement in any direction. Ships are moored next to each other on the row by utilizing 7/8" diameter plow steel wire rope. This wire is passed back and forth in "parts," from the mooring bitts aboard one ship to the mooring bitts of the neighboring ship. Six-foot cube wooden mooring fenders are placed between the ships. Depending on the distance between bitts, three to five parts per wire are used, achieving a high factor of safety with regard to breaking strength. Typically, eight mooring wires are used on each side of a ship (except for the ships on the ends of rows). More wires are deployed, as needed, depending on ship size and length. Capacity SBRF has the capacity to moor several hundred ships if needed. In the late 1950s’ – early 1960’s, there were in excess of 500 ships moored at SBRF. Currently, there are 96 vessels moored at SBRF, including: commercial types, such as tankers and break-bulk cargo ships; Naval auxiliaries, such as Landing Ships (LSD), Tenders, Repair and Replenishment ships (AS, AR, AE, AOR, and AO) Amphibious Assault Ships (LPH), Combatants (FF, CG and DDG), and a small amount of service craft, such as tugs and barges (YTB, BC, and YFN); US Coast Guard icebreakers and buoy tenders (WAGB, WLB, and WLM). There are seven rows of ships in the anchorage, labeled E, F, G, I, J, K and L from South to North, and two barge nests (H and K1). Logistics Support SBRF utilizes several different types of service craft to provide for its over- the-water needs, as well as the needs of its customers. These craft include Headquarters Barge 2000 HP Tugs Self-propelled 25 Ton Crane Barge Non-self-Propelled 60 Ton Crane Barge Covered work barge Drydock barge for servicing small craft 25 - 45 person capacity personnel transportation boats LCM-style work boats Patrol Boats Oil spill deployment craft Barges for anchors, chain and other equipment storage SBRF can receive freight delivered to its pier, offload the delivery truck with its crane barges and deliver the load to any ship moored in the Fleet. Additionally, loads can be lifted from any ship in the Fleet, delivered to the pier and offloaded. These loads can be anything from maintenance supplies, to heavy equipment removed from a ship at the customer’s request. Electrical Supply SBRF has the electrical capacity to deliver 480VAC to any ship on any one of the powered rows, serving electrical loads of 100 amps, 200 amps or 400 amps per ship depending on the customer’s needs. This is possible due to the high voltage primary electrical system that was upgraded in 1999. Power is provided to the rows via 12KV primary submersible electrical cables. Junction barges moored alongside the rows provide for the transition from underwater to above water feeder cable. This cable is connected to a 12KV disconnect switch and Power Distribution Center (PDC) via 250’ lengths of high voltage cable resembling giant extension cords. The PDC contains a 12KV-to-480V step down transformer (500KVA or 1000 KVA), load circuit breakers, and shipboard distribution receptacles. From the receptacles, 480V shipboard distribution cable brings electrical power to the ships’ shore power connections or to exterior junction boxes for powering preservation systems. As a row’s power requirements increase, such as with the addition of ships on the row, additional PDCs are placed aboard as needed and connected to the high voltage side of the upstream PDC. The system is modular and very flexible, and can be tailored for any row’s or ship’s electrical needs. Services Provided SBRF provides a myriad of services for its ships and customers: Mooring security, checking and adjusting anchors, chain and mooring wires as needed. Physical security, with a landside and waterborne patrol 24/7, and weekly and monthly shipboard integrity inspections. Fire protection services, with water monitor and foam capabilities aboard SBRF tugs, and mutual aid agreements with the local Fire Departments and the Petro- Chemical industry in the area. Maintenance of the electrical system described above, for general lighting, powering of preservation systems, and for exercise of shipboard equipment as required by the customer. Portable generating capacity is also available in the event of utility power outages. Installation and maintenance of Preservation Systems, including Dehumidification and Cathodic Protection systems, and fire, flooding and intrusion alarms as required. Coating maintenance as required by the customer. Logistics over-the-water to support maintenance or any other work requested by the customer. Exercise and repair of shipboard equipment as required by the customer, such as "Phase IV Maintenance" for ships in the Ready Reserve Force (RRF). Equipment and spare parts removals requested by the customer to satisfy Cannibalization or Fleet Stripping Requests (Navy), and parts and equipment transfers (RRF). This includes sighting the equipment requested, testing if necessary, removal of the equipment, transporting into the facility, and crating for delivery. Requested equipment has included both small and large components alike, from printed circuit cards to motors, pumps, winches, electrical switchboards, cargo gear, underway replenishment gear, side port doors, anchors, and chain. Contact information Visit the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on the Internet at http://www.marad.dot.gov; contact us by email at pao.marad@marad.dot.gov; or call toll free1-800-99-MARAD. The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet's phone number is 707-745-0487. For information about U.S. Navy vessels in MARAD's custody, contact the Naval Sea Systems Command at 202-781-2975. Site Reference: http://www.marad.dot.gov/Programs/SBRF.html