The elusive ship built to carry US special operators is in the Caribbean

A vessel that has been described as a special operations mothership is currently deployed to the Caribbean, Task & Purpose has confirmed.

A Military Sealift Command spokesperson confirmed to Task & Purpose that the MV Ocean Trader is currently operating in the Caribbean. The official deferred questions about its mission to U.S. Special Operations Command, which declined to comment.

Naval experts told Task & Purpose that the U.S. has a history of using commercial ships like the MV Ocean Trader as part of special operations missions. U.S. military officials have not said publicly exactly what the ship’s current mission in the Caribbean is.

Formerly named the MV Cragside, the transformation of the MV Ocean Trader from a commercial roll-on/roll-off cargo ship to a vessel fit for special operations missions has been tracked through rigorous reporting from The War Zone. Over the years, the publication has followed the ship’s movements from port calls in Seychelles and a dry dock in Oman.

“The ship is intended to blend in with merchant traffic, whereas obviously a destroyer shows someplace or an [amphibious ship], something like this might not attract as much attention,” said retired Navy Capt. Bradley Martin, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and a retired surface warfare captain of 30 years with four command tours.

The ship is built to carry up to 159 special operations forces plus its crew of 50 for up to 45 days at sea before having to refuel and be resupplied at sea or return to port, said retired Navy Capt. Brent Sadler, of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C.

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/mv-ocean-trader-caribbean/