MSC Delivers Cargo, Supplies in Support of 2021 Annual Pacer Goose Sustainment Mission
20 July 2021
NORFOLK, Va. --
Chartered by U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command, heavy lift container ship MV SLNC Magothy arrived Naval Station Norfolk July 16 and immediately began its loading operation for Thule Air Force Base in Greenland, located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Under Pacer Goose Sustainment 2021, 17 contract civilian mariners assigned to Magothy, along with employees from Norfolk’s Defense Logistics Agency Distribution center, worked around the clock for four straight days to meet the ship’s deadline of loading 42 pieces of critical cargo and supplies that included one fire truck.
Magothy set sail for Thule AFB July 19 with more than 90,000 pounds of critical supplies expected to sustain the base for the next 365 days.
Despite working under extremely hot conditions, the loading operations this year was very efficient, conduced with excellent cooperation from all involved parties, said Capt. Noah Myrus, master of MV SLNC Magothy.
Due to environmental factors and based on historic ice patterns, the month of July is the most favorable time of the year to reach so far into the Arctic Circle, Myrus said.
Because ice growth is unpredictable, Magothy requires two escorts. For the first leg, Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker Captain Molly Kool will escort the vessel to Disko Island. Then for the second leg, Supply Tanker Maersk Peary will escort Magothy from Disko Island to Thule AFB. “Having an escort increases the level of safety during the transit from Disko Island to Thule,” Myrus said.
Upon arriving Thule, Magothy will take serval days to unload. Once complete, the icebreaker will return to Thule to escort Magothy back to Disko Island before going off hire. Magothy is expected to return to NAVSTA in mid-August with all of Thule’s solid waste and non-repairable equipment for discharge.
“All aboard the SLNC Magothy are proud to have the opportunity to support Thule Air Force Base, since it is a critical National Security asset,” Myrus said.
The Pacer Goose mission was originally created in secret as a refueling base of strategic bombers during the Cold War. Today, the base of 1,100 U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, and multinational personnel serves as a detection and traction station for object travelling over the Arctic Circle.
CONMARS aboard ships like Magothy have provided key support in supplying Thule since 1952.
MSC first began supporting the resupply mission in the 1960s. This is DLA's 24th year and Maghoty’s second.
Magothy is owned by Schuyler Line Navigation Company, LLC.