By Troy Turner
The USNS Comfort, one of the Navy’s two primary hospital ships along with its sister ship USNS Mercy, is making a return visit to Mobile for routine repairs and upgrades after a successful drydocking and overhaul in the port city a year earlier.
Alabama Shipyard LLC in Mobile was awarded an almost $20 million contract for the work, and it is one of two major contracts the Navy announced in July 2023 for the company.
The replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall will undergo similar upgrades, bringing Alabama Shipyard another contract at almost $11 million.
Both ships made news headlines in years past.
During 2009 when Somali pirates launched numerous attacks and attempted hijackings on commercial ships sailing off the shores of eastern Africa, one such incident led to the John Lenthall firing warning shots to drive away two skiffs that approached the ship.
Meanwhile, the USNS Comfort has a long and distinguished record of rendering aid around the globe.
The Comfort is a 1,000-bed hospital ship commissioned in 1986, with a military cadre crew of approximately eight officers and 53 enlisted personnel, and a civilian mariner cadre crew of approximately 15 personnel when in a Reduced Operating Status, according to the Navy.
“Along with USNS Mercy, Comfort provides an afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facilities when called upon to the U.S. military, and hospital services to support U.S. disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide,” the Navy reports.
While many of the Comfort’s most notable missions provided humanitarian service, the ship also has an extensive record in support of combat operations.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, for example, from January-June 2003, Comfort deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After 56 days in the Persian Gulf, the Comfort had served as an afloat trauma center and provided expert medical care to nearly 700 wounded U.S. military personnel.
Another example is its service during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. From August 1990 to April 1991, Comfort deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations. There, the ship’s medical staff saw more than 8,000 outpatients, admitted 700 inpatients and performed 337 complex surgical procedures.
The contract with Alabama Shipyard “awarded $19,685,492 firm-fixed-price contract (N3220523C4084) for a 120-calendar day shipyard availability for the mid-term availability of Military Sealift Command’s hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20),” according to the Department of Defense announcement. “This contract includes a base period and options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $19,927,348. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, beginning Sept. 15, 2023, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 12, 2024.
“Fiscal 2023 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $19,685,492 are obligated and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a small business set-aside with proposals solicited via the SAM.gov website and four offers received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.”
The DOD shared a similar announcement regarding the John Lenthall.
Alabama Shipyard “is awarded a $10,729,026 firm-fixed-price contract (N3220523C0189) for an 81-calendar day shipyard availability for the mid-term availability of Military Sealift Command’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO 189).
“This contract includes a base period and five unexercised options, which if exercised, would increase the cumulative value of this contract to $11,265,523. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, beginning Sept. 11, 2023, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2023.
“Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $10,729,026.00 are obligated for fiscal 2023 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was a small business set-aside solicited via the sam.gov website and six offers were received. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220523C0189).”
