The Jones Act tanker Empire State was responsible for removing over half the total inventory once held at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF), safely transporting more than 1.2 million barrels of product during a 30-day period in October and November. The ship is operated under Military Sealift Command charter by Intrepid Personnel and Provisioning. American Maritime Officers represents the licensed officers onboard the Empire State.
According to a public mission update posted November 3 by Joint Task Force-Red Hill, JTF-RH had as of that date safely removed 62,466,890 gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF).
During that week, JTF-RH completed transfer of approximately 12 million gallons of JP5 from tanks 9 and 11 to merchant tanker Torm Thunder. Additionally, JTF-RH completed transfer of approximately 9.5 million gallons of F24 from tanks 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as approximately 2.3 million gallons of JP5 from tank 10 to merchant tanker Empire State.
JTF-RH was at that time defueling to the tanker Stena Impeccable.
November 5 was a designated crew rest day. JTF-RH announced plans for the following week to transfer fuel from RHBFSF to merchant tanker Empire State and the above ground storage facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Both the Stena Impeccable and Empire State are crewed in all licensed positions by members of American Maritime Officers.
AMO members working aboard the Empire State, here in Hawaii offloading fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in November, included Captain Kevin Griffith, Chief Mate John Giuffre, Second Mate Matthew Mundorf, Third Mates Nicholas Smith and James Onorato, PIC Observer John Ludwig, Chief Engineer Andrew Davidson, First Assistant Engineer Abdulkarim Ghaleb, Second A.E. Alexander Calderwood and Third A.E. Philip Sharp.
The Stena Imperative is pier-side as the Empire State receives the sixth transfer of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on November 7, 2023. JTF-RH is in the fifth and final phase of its defueling plan, where JTF-RH along with Defense Logistics Agency Energy and Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor, are safely defueling the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. This stage consists of defueling approximately 104 million gallons of fuel, with planned strategic pauses for safety checks, and transporting the fuel to various locations throughout the Pacific.