US logistics system to help supply enclave

The US has said about 1,000 of its troops will be posted near Gaza’s coast to build a floating pier, enabling aid to reach the shores of the enclave.

The pier could take up to 60 days to build, Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said on Friday.

The pier, known as a Trident, is part of the joint logistics over the shore (JLOTS) capability, which enables the US military to rapidly access land with supplies in regions hit by war or disaster, where ports are not working.

The Trident will be built by the US Army, which operates a fleet of about 134 ships – almost the size of the Spanish Navy – under its Transportation Corps.

The EU and UAE will also play key roles in bringing aid to Gaza by sea through Cyprus, with trial operations expected to start within days.

Gaza’s port is damaged and lacks the capacity for largescale aid operations. The enclave needs about 4,000 tonnes of food a week, the World Food Programme has said, but the volume of required supplies is significantly higher, accounting for medicine, tents and blankets.

The US Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade will send “a floating pier, an approximately 1,800-foot [548-metre] causeway that will be attached to the shore, and a group of logistic support vessels and barges that will transport the aid from the pier to the causeway”, the Pentagon said.

The army’s involvement is a departure from standard US procedure during aid operations at sea. Ships from the US Marine Corps have delivered supplies after previous disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2011 earthquake in Japan.

JLOTS has rarely been used in humanitarian operations. The Pentagon said its most recent posting was Exercise Talisman Sabre, a large-scale defence exercise between Australia and the US.

The system was used during both Gulf Wars, and was considered for humanitarian operations in Somalia, but rough seas and a long journey for aid resupply halted its use.

The system came into its own after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, when Port-au-Prince was severely damaged and about 1.6 million people were in urgent need of aid, but with no rapid route for humanitarian agencies to assist.

The US government said

The army’s involvement in a maritime aid effort is unusual, as ships from the US Marine Corps are generally used

“8,400 twenty-foot equivalent container units were offloaded” by the temporary pier, each with a 24-tonne capacity. Half of that – about 100,000 tonnes – was food aid.

The Haiti operation, Unified Response, was hindered by the island’s distance from US ports, but amphibious vessels were able to land on the beach and deliver aid and equipment while the port was under repair.

This will not be possible in Gaza, where the US has stressed it will not send troops to shore.

When operational, the pier will be able to handle thousands of tonnes of aid a day.