Fuel supply system helps with earthquake relief
Marine fuel supplies for the Haiti disaster have been assured by US contractor Multi Service, working with the US Defense Energy Support Center (DESC).
DESC, which provides fuelling services to the US Department of Defense, plus federal civilian and government agencies, has made arrangements to add vessels participating in the disaster relief efforts to its Sea Card fuel purchasing programme.
Following the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, reports indicated that ships were unable to dock at the damaged Port-au-Prince port. This meant that vessels providing relief would have to fuel at nearby ports in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. As a result, eight Navy vessels were added to the Sea Card Open Market programme, allowing them to place orders at ports where there are no DESC fuel contracts in place. Multi Service says that this allows them to deliver on President Obama’s promise of rescue and relief support to Haiti. Additionally, more than 12 marine fuel orders were fulfilled for the US Coast Guard in Florida to support their evacuation and supply delivery efforts throughout the first three days of the relief effort alone.
The DESC Sea Card, established in 2004, and the longer-established Air Card, is designed to ensure government and military personnel have an efficient means to procure supplies needed to carryout critical missions. Multi Service is the exclusive contractor providing card issuance, transaction processing and support to merchants and customers.
