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The U.S. government has begun outfitting a
ship in its reserve ready force with equipment to enable it to destroy
some of Syria's chemical weapons at sea in the event Washington is asked
to assist in the effort, a defense official said on Sunday.
The Maritime Administration vessel MV Cape
Ray is being equipped with the newly developed Field Deployable
Hydrolysis System, which was designed by the Defense Department to
neutralize components used in chemical weapons, a defense official said
on condition of anonymity.
The Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, which supervising the disposal of Syria's chemical
arms, said last week the United States had offered to destroy some of
the components on a U.S. ship and was looking for a Mediterranean port
where the work could be carried out.
"The United States is committed to
supporting the international community's efforts to destroy Syria's
chemical weapons in the safest, most efficient and effective means
possible," Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National
Security Council, said in an email on Sunday.
"We have offered and are currently
outfitting a U.S. vessel with field deployable hydrolysis system
technology to support the OPCW's efforts," she said, adding the U.S.
remained "confident that we can meet the milestones for destruction set
out by the OPCW."
The OPCW aims to remove the most critical chemicals out of Syria by the end of December, with the remainder due out by Feb. 5.
The Cape Ray, a 648-foot vessel with
built-in ramps to enable cargo to be efficiently rolled on and rolled
off, is part of the Maritime Administration's ready reserve force of 46
ships.
The force was organized to provide
strategic sealift for U.S. military forces, but it is part of the
Transportation Department. The Pentagon would lease the Cape Ray if it
participates in the Syrian chemical weapons destruction, the defense
official said.
The OPCW said last week 35 firms had
expressed an interest in bidding for commercial contracts to dispose of
some 800 tons of bulk industrial chemicals that are safe to destroy in
commercial incinerators.
Another 500 tons of chemicals, including
nerve agents, were seen as too dangerous to import into a country or to
process commercially. The OPCW was considering the U.S. offer to
neutralize those chemical agents on a vessel at sea.
The Field Deployable Hydrolysis System was
built by the U.S. military and went through final testing this summer.
It is designed to be portable and can be deployed and begin operations
anywhere in the world within 10 days.
It neutralizes bulk amounts of chemical
warfare agents and their precursors using reagents like water, sodium
hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite, according to the U.S. Army's Edgewood
Chemical Biological Center.
"The Department of Defense designed the
FDHS to fully comply with U.S. environmental laws and regulations," the
defense official said, adding that the United States had used the
approach of neutralizing chemical warfare agents in destroying its own
stockpiles.
The system, which requires a crew of 15
trained personnel, is self-sufficient and includes its own power
generators and laboratory. It only needs materials like water, reagents
and fuel to operate.
Copyright Reuters 2013.
Post to be found at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/US-Ship-Readied-for-Possible-Syrian-Chemical-Arms-Destruction-2013-12-02/
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