Meet MV Ocean Trader — a one-of-a-kind shadowy Special Operations mothership literally designed to hide in plain sight 👀 Operating AIS dark, under commercial guise & hoisting false flags, it can launch drones, helos, boats, & SEALS. Much is classified, but here’s what we know:
MV Ocean Trader is not a commissioned vessel in the U.S. Navy, or owned by the government, but leased from one of the largest ship operators, & chartered by the Military Sealift Command. MVOT was recently spotted in Bahrain by @n_morse9927, making a rare public appearance.
@n_morse9927 A decade ago, Special Operations Command began quietly converting a modern roll-on, roll-off cargo ship into a highly customized, cutting-edge, clandestine command center, mobile mothership, & forward sea base. In 2014, @mercoglianos explained, “articles began to appear about
@n_morse9927 @mercoglianos “MV Ocean Trader has the capability to house a total of 209 special warfighting personnel, enough stores and provisions for 45 days of operations and the capability to refuel and replenish at sea, along with capacity to launch, recover, refuel, and resupply up to four small
@n_morse9927 @mercoglianos MV Ocean Trader has four launch & recovery bays located on the ship’s starboard side & embarks advanced vessels like the stealthy Combat Craft-Assault (CCA), @thewarzonewire reported. CCA boats are a popular platform for special operation forces to deploy with because they are
TWZ said there appears to be a launcher for Insitu drones on the ship’s stern flight deck area, & large communications arrays can also be seen. There is a .50 caliber machine gun mounted above the stern & another on the starboard side of the superstructure. “But what’s most
“MV Ocean Trader, along with Expeditionary Support Bases such as Lewis B. Puller and USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams and Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transports, provides a unique capability to project military power afloat and ashore. Ocean Trader’s commercial guise (like
Before/after:
“The days of small radar signatures, applying special material to the hull, or suppressed sounds may just be giving way to the hoisting of false flags akin to the day of sail.”
Sources: @mercoglianos @n_morse9927 @Mar_Ex @thewarzonewire @NavyLookout Pictures: David Kozdron, Fremantle Shipping News, Herve Dermoune, @WarshipCam
The last public sighting of MV Ocean Trader (that I can find) was at Pearl Harbor in September 2023.
If you made it down here, you might enjoy this thread:
@ianellisjones its a modded roro and they are fast and don't make much of a wake.
@ianellisjones Cragside
@ianellisjones The "Mobile Sea Base" concept was conceived in the 1980s and first executed during Operation Prime Chance in 1988 using a pair of jacking barges -Hercules and Wimbrown VII - leased from Brown and Root and operating in the norther Persian Gulf. The barges were Panamanian flagged,
@ianellisjones Am I the only person who thinks that releasing this information publicly is a bad idea?
@ianellisjones I was working on the other side of the jetty from her, on an AB last week. She has been in a few times over the past month. Talked to a few crew. Nice blokes....and very heavily tattooed!
@ianellisjones Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it 🤣
@ianellisjones No one’s mentioned Clive Cussler?
@ianellisjones For what they need Suburban on a deck?
@ianellisjones Is the Captain Juan Cabrillo by any chance?
@ianellisjones Is the Geneva Convention a thing of the past?
@ianellisjones Good looking Multi Purpose ship. All serious navies need something like this for special ops and indeed disaster response purposes of all kinds.
@ianellisjones Did they get this idea from Clive Cussler Oregon Files.
@ianellisjones Absolutely beautiful! Very happy something is being created for exactly what is needed. 21st century "Q" ship.
@ianellisjones Just checked the USNI. Shared with husband with added caveat- The USN never tells ya all.
@ianellisjones It was converted at a shipyard here in Mobile. I took a picture of it back then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
@ianellisjones For a moment I thought this was MV mentor
@ianellisjones @SOFDoctor So now we’re publishing our classified ships so they know what to look for, smart. Don’t you think by publishing the pics or talking about this gives them an edge. The enemy or the public doesn’t need to know and leave it at that
@ianellisjones @thinkdefence do we need one?
@ianellisjones Nothing?
@ianellisjones So is the vessel still owned by Maersk Inc? Bareboat chartered?
@ianellisjones 👀 I really like it
@ianellisjones don’t need to know.
@ianellisjones A nice distraction for people. I guess we'll never know what the REAL hidden ship is. We'll played US 👏