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00:00The United States Navy's Robert E. Peary is the ultimate sea-going superstore.
00:06Her mission, resupplying pirate-busting warships in the Gulf of Aden.
00:11It's a high-risk job with no room for error.
00:15The ships are 150 feet apart. It's a dangerous situation.
00:18Her speciality, the delivery of everything from fuel and medical supplies to fresh produce and dessert.
00:25Your ice cream just came aboard, sir. Ice cream, arriving.
00:30Peary sails into harm's way to keep the U.S. Navy fed and fueled.
00:47USNS Robert E. Peary is one of the U.S. Navy's newest and most advanced combat replenishment ships.
00:54She's pulling into the secure African port of Djibouti to load up for a dangerous resupply and refueling mission in pirate-infested waters.
01:04Djibouti is located on the Horn of Africa.
01:07It's where the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden meet,
01:10and where marauding Somali pirates are constantly attacking and hijacking commercial shipping.
01:17Several countries, including the United States, have sent warships to stop the pirates.
01:22Their mission is so crucial, these warships often can't return to port for months.
01:27This is where the Peary comes in. She brings critically needed supplies to them.
01:34Captain Greg Horner is Peary's civilian master, and the man in overall command of the ship.
01:41How many trucks are left down there on Peary now?
01:46Our mission is to maintain the coalition ships so that they can stay on station,
01:52and not have to come off station and allow pirate activity to flourish while they're gone.
02:02Peary is an armed, floating grocers and petrol station.
02:07She's the final link in the US Navy's supply chain, and an essential member of the anti-pirate task force.
02:15She delivers massive amounts of pre-ordered food, fuel, essential cargo,
02:20and spare parts to Navy warships on the sharp end of anti-pirate patrol.
02:29Peary is a Navy ship, but with a difference.
02:33She's operated by a civilian crew of 129, and 12 US Navy personnel,
02:39who perform security and logistics duties.
02:45Navy Commander Jerry Rayar is in charge of the ship's military personnel,
02:49and responsible for everything that gets loaded aboard.
02:53How many more pallets of fresh fruits and vegetables do we have coming?
02:58He has less than 24 hours to get 325 tons of supplies off the lorries,
03:03onto the pier, and into the ship.
03:06The intense desert heat isn't helping.
03:09Right now, the temperature is probably a little over 100 degrees with 90% humidity,
03:13so the shelf life of this deteriorates very quickly the longer it sits out here on the pier.
03:19Before being loaded aboard Peary, the pre-ordered cargo is tagged with spare parts,
03:24each color representing a specific ship.
03:28You'll see that there's a lot of different types of commodities here.
03:31We've got some of the hardier fruits and vegetables, the onions,
03:34that last a lot longer.
03:36Some of the softer fruits, like peaches and romaine lettuce.
03:40It's very, very delicate, so it's imperative that we do get it on board pretty quickly.
03:46Delivered in 2008, Peary is huge.
03:49Delivered in 2008, Peary is huge.
03:53210 meters long and 32 meters wide.
03:57Stood on one end, she would be as tall as a 70-story skyscraper.
04:04Peary has 14 dry cargo holds, including three refrigeration and freezer holds.
04:10Fully loaded, her total cargo space is equal to 300 lorries.
04:16In the stern, the ship's helicopter hangar and flight deck.
04:21And below that, the heart of Peary, the engine room and electric generating station.
04:28Peary's fleet of 25 forklifts move the cargo to its appropriate onboard locations.
04:34A blue sticker means a trip to the freezers.
04:37With 20 years on the job, Junior Supply Officer James Brown makes sure everything is put in the right place,
04:44so that ships always get their critically needed supplies, not someone else's.
04:49We don't want to get anything mixed up, so that way when it's time for our unwraps, everything goes pretty smooth.
04:55We don't have to look for pallets, everything is already organized.
04:58Danger is an occupational hazard for Peary's crew.
05:02Paying attention and making sure nobody gets hurt during the load-ins is part of the job.
05:08At any time, those cables in there, anything can happen, so you have to stand back and be aware of your surroundings.
05:13You can't be around here lollygagging and looking at what's going on elsewhere.
05:17You've got to be having what's going on on this stage right now.
05:23One of the unique design features on Peary is the climate-controlled main cargo deck.
05:28Two football fields long, it's a floating road for moving cargo to and from the staging areas.
05:35You can see in the truck tunnels here, we have plenty of room.
05:39We can actually run two fork trucks simultaneously, side by side, up and down the passageways.
05:45We have a passageway on the port side and a passageway on the starboard side.
05:48That starts off from the very front of the ship and goes all the way to the back.
05:53These pallets of frozen food are placed in high-strength nets, ready to be airlifted by Peary's helicopters to her warship customers.
06:01They're loading the cargo into the nets to be wrapped up, brought down into the cargo hold through the elevator into the freeze hold.
06:10They'll just bring it straight up, directly onto the flight deck, hook up the poles and fly it off to our customer.
06:17Back on the pier, trucks and camels jostle for space.
06:21The trucks are loaded with more cargo for Peary.
06:24The crew is working against the clock and the stifling heat to get the loading completed.
06:31Veterinary technician and food inspector Staff Sergeant Brian Davis is the only United States Army member serving on Peary.
06:38He's known by fellow crew members as the Army of One.
06:42My job is to make sure that all food is going to our ship itself and all the other ships within our air responsibility
06:48meets our contractual compliance, wholesomeness and security.
06:52Make sure it's free from any bugs, roaches, cockroaches, rats.
06:58Making sure there's not, you know, anything coming in the way of anthrax, bombs, bison or anything like that.
07:04With the loading in full swing, Navigation Officer James Gardner briefs the captain and his fellow officers on the mission ahead.
07:11And as you guys know, we'll be swinging off the pier and we'll be heading northerly in a northerly direction for outside the shoaling areas.
07:21General weather is what you see, hot and dusty and that's all I have.
07:27Peary's seven-day mission is to resupply over half a dozen warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden's east-west shipping lanes.
07:36It's a huge area and it's the prime hunting ground of Somali pirates.
07:43Some of the ships are down to their final reserves of food and fuel and in desperate need of Peary's supplies.
07:50The loading is finally complete and the massive ship gets underway.
07:56The bottom of Peary's hull extends ten metres below the waterline, the height of a three-storey building.
08:07Using his local knowledge, the harbour pilot guides Peary through the port's shallow shoals.
08:13Safely clear of the harbour and on the rising high tide, she's leaving the port of Djibouti behind.
08:24Peary is now on her own and heading towards unknown dangers in the Gulf of Aden's pirate alley.
08:32Navy supply ship Robert E. Peary is now on day two of her mission in the dangerous, pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
08:41In just a few hours, she'll be hooking up with her first warship customer to deliver fresh food, supplies and fuel.
08:48With Yemen to the north and Somalia to the south, she's in the middle of the busiest east-west shipping lanes in the world.
08:57Over 20,000 ships pass through here every year, coming from or heading to the Suez Canal.
09:05The Suez Canal is the largest canal in the world.
09:10Over 20,000 ships pass through here every year, coming from or heading to the Suez Canal.
09:17And all of them are hoping to avoid being taken hostage by pirates.
09:23What you see down here are the commercial traffic transiting the transit lanes south of us.
09:30Piracy primarily takes place in this area.
09:33In this area, the coalition ships transit and patrol this area to look for any possible pirate operations.
09:42Even Peary has to be on high alert for pirate attack.
09:45But unlike commercial ships, she has the ability to defend herself.
09:50In 2009, a sister resupply ship was shot at by pirates in these very waters.
09:57We carry a Navy security det on board to take care of any problems that might arise with piracy.
10:05Master at Arms Second Class Petty Officer Simone Campbell is a security specialist with training in ship defense.
10:12She's more than ready to deal with any pirates that want to mess with Peary.
10:17On the robbery pair we have a different assortment of weapons, one being the heavy barrel machine gun that's right here.
10:22It's capable of doing a lot of areas of fire for it.
10:27We've had different instances where we have different boats come alongside and are in the area or interested in the actions of the ship.
10:33But for the most part, our security on board is the vital asset that keeps them away most of the time from the ship.
10:42On the bridge, Navigation Officer James Gardner hears a radio distress call from a nearby ship under pirate attack.
10:53He calls Captain Horner.
10:56Captain, on channel 16 we heard pirate chatter.
10:59Do we know how far away they were?
11:02Peary is not a warship, but she could rescue survivors in a crisis at sea.
11:07There was a frantic call saying that they were being boarded on the bow.
11:12Just keep monitoring the VHF for any other possible traffic.
11:16If push comes to shove, Horner will divert course to the rescue.
11:20But right now, he chooses to wait.
11:23We had pirate chatter over channel 16.
11:27And normally Coalition warships are in the area and respond to them,
11:31but there may be action going on that we're unaware of and we'll get some information on it at some other time.
11:37In the meantime, it's business as usual.
11:40Coalition warships are on their way.
11:42But it may already be too late.
11:44The Gulf of Aden covers over half a million square kilometers
11:47and the warships can't be everywhere at once.
11:53While Peary's security team cook in the sun,
11:56deep down in the refrigerated holds,
11:58yeoman storekeeper Justin Figuration is dressed more like a snowboarder.
12:04Well, it's negative 10 degrees down here.
12:07It's about 100 degrees upstairs.
12:09You want to try to keep it as cold as it is down here.
12:13The items, I want to keep them nice and fresh from here to up there.
12:17When they call down here for a freeze,
12:20we put it on the elevator with the fork truck,
12:23send it up and they take it from there.
12:33On the flight deck, Chief Boatswain Craig Arnold and his crew
12:36prepare the netted cargo to be airlifted to the first warship.
12:39It ranges from soda to paper to potato chips to bread.
12:43All the provisions that they need to do their mission while they're out here.
12:49Peary's two helicopters have a maximum safe working load,
12:52so each pallet needs to be weighed and sorted.
12:56250 pounds.
12:57250.
12:58Bring it down.
13:00Straight in.
13:01And the idea behind this is, these are safe working loads.
13:04Careful calculation makes sure the helicopters aren't overloaded.
13:08A single mistake could prove fatal.
13:10All right.
13:11So I keep everything approximately around 3,500 to 3,800.
13:15I get myself next to a 400-pound buffer.
13:18Peary's getting ready to meet her first customer,
13:21the guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto.
13:25Twice in 2009, Peary's first mission to the United States
13:29the guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto.
13:33Twice in 2010, this warship fought and defeated armed pirates,
13:37capturing them and saving lives.
13:47The San Jacinto approaches carefully
13:49for a pinpoint accurate supply drop from the Peary.
13:52It's what's called a vert rep or vertical replenishment.
13:56Peary's helicopters will airlift supplies to the pirate-busting warship.
14:02As long as the two ships are alongside,
14:04you're always in the danger of accidents happening,
14:07so you want to get everybody away as soon as possible.
14:09That's why we do the simultaneous refuelling and vert rep.
14:14San Jacinto slides into position beside the Peary.
14:17The two ships are dangerously close,
14:19just 60 metres apart on a parallel course.
14:23Flight quarters, flight quarters. Now hand your flight quarters safely.
14:28On the flight deck, one of the ship's two Puma helicopters
14:31is ready to carry netted cargo over to the San Jacinto.
14:36For pilot Kevin Black,
14:38the confined flight decks on the smaller ships are a real worry.
14:42He needs to use all of his flying skills
14:44to avoid dropping the load in the wrong spot
14:47and injuring any of the deck crew.
14:49The wind patterns are different around those decks
14:51and the amount of space we have to work with the load is pretty limited.
14:59We have to really kind of thread our loads in
15:01to get them to fit as many as possible
15:04before the personnel on that ship clear it off.
15:11Flying loads between ships is a really dangerous job.
15:14If something goes wrong, it's usually catastrophic.
15:17We operate very low and if we ever lost an engine,
15:20we would be probably in the water almost immediately.
15:23So it's a significant risk working with an external load.
15:29Peary maintains a steady course
15:31and a constant speed of 13 knots or 24 kilometres per hour.
15:36It's up to the customer ship to stay right beside Peary.
15:40A bowline between the two ships is a critical visual aid.
15:44And they're looking at the flags
15:46to maintain their position alongside us.
15:48We maintain a course and speed and we don't change anything.
15:53Any deviation could cause a very dangerous collision in seconds.
15:58They're controlling their vessel alongside us
16:00by adjusting their speed and their course
16:04to maintain the flags in the position that they're in right now.
16:09With just half a football field separating the San Jacinto and Peary,
16:13the two ships are just one computer glitch away from disaster.
16:21That's because Peary's steering is computer-controlled.
16:24There is no mechanical connection between the bridge and the rudder.
16:29Deep in the ship's stern,
16:31an emergency back-up steering system is crewed by 30 people.
16:35This is the hydraulic system.
16:37We can take over control from the bridge here from here.
16:41But if this fails, last resort, we will use this.
16:46This takes 28 turns per degree to turn.
16:52To avoid a collision, it would take at least 100 turns of the wheel
16:56for just a small 5-degree change in the rudder.
16:59To avoid a collision, it would take at least 100 turns of the wheel
17:03for just a small 5-degree change in direction.
17:08The emergency steering room is only crewed during replenishments
17:12and when entering or leaving port,
17:14times when there is no margin of error.
17:18Okay, Puma 03 is taking the last two loads over to the customer ship.
17:23One of Commander Rea's many responsibilities
17:25includes manning the control tower and coordinating the airlifts.
17:29It's pretty amazing to be able to put a helicopter in a harbour like that
17:33with winds and all the different dynamics going on
17:36and be able to hook up a heavy load and fly it over to the other ship.
17:39It takes a lot of coordination and a lot of talent.
17:46Fuel is pumped and fresh fruits and vegetables, supplies and mail
17:50are airlifted to the San Jacinto.
17:53Below decks in the infirmary, Piri's medical officer, Nicole Shaunder,
17:57packs up a potentially life-saving shipment
18:00for the emergency surgical team aboard the San Jacinto.
18:04We had a request from the expeditionary medical clinic
18:08to transport some blood over to a ship that's out at sea
18:11that can't make it into port because of their mission.
18:14Hopefully it'll not necessarily be needed, but it's there in case it is.
18:18It's a very special delivery
18:20and this last flight of the replenishment reminds the crew
18:23that there's a war being waged out there in Pirate Alley.
18:31After 90 minutes, the supply mission is complete.
18:37Roger, as soon as we see you breaking away,
18:39we'll come around to starboard to a course of 250.
18:43With fresh supplies and tanks full of fuel,
18:46the San Jacinto slowly pulls away
18:48and gets back to work protecting commercial shipping from pirate attack.
18:57USNS Robert E. Piri is 80km away
19:00from her next customer ship in the Gulf of Aden.
19:03On the bridge, Captain Horner has news for Commander Rea
19:06about that morning's pirate attack, and it's not good.
19:10OK.
19:12The, er, water vessel hijacked in the Gulf of Aden
19:16and vessels are advised to exercise extreme caution.
19:19Pirate ships are on the prowl and nearby.
19:23So what we heard this morning was in fact an actual hijacking.
19:29Wow. Probably not that far away from us either.
19:32No, not too far.
19:34That's pretty serious. We'll see some updates here.
19:36The two men know that without their supplies,
19:38the battle against piracy could be lost.
19:41All right. Thanks, sir.
19:44In her fuel holds, Piri carries both marine diesel
19:48and aviation fuel for her warship customers.
19:51It's all stored in huge on-board fuel cargo tanks.
19:55A total of 3,100 cubic metres,
19:58roughly the volume of one-and-a-half Olympic-size swimming pools.
20:03But even Piri needs to be prepared for the worst.
20:07Because we only have just so much fuel to give,
20:10we have to go and get it ourselves.
20:12We either get it in port,
20:14or we'll get it from one of the tankers that's already out here.
20:17Today she's calling on another member of the fleet's resupply team.
20:21USNS Laramie is a military sealift command replenishment oiler,
20:25a ship whose sole purpose is to resupply oil
20:28from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Mexico.
20:31It's the only vessel in the world
20:34USNS Laramie is a military sealift command replenishment oiler,
20:37a ship whose sole purpose is to refuel naval vessels.
20:51With the two ships side by side, messenger lines are shot across,
20:55and larger ropes are pulled back to Piri.
20:58Everything we do is dangerous.
21:01There's no other way to put it.
21:03When ships are 150 feet apart, it's a dangerous situation.
21:08A lot of things can happen.
21:10Steel-span wire cables are then hooked up
21:13for both the refueling and the cargo transfer.
21:18The constant danger of at-sea replenishment keeps everyone on edge.
21:23A lot of people can be hurt down on the stations, things of that nature.
21:27We're thinking about the safety aspect of what we're doing.
21:36The steel cables are tensioned between the ships.
21:40Laramie's fuel probe is winched across to the Piri,
21:43and the refueling process begins.
21:46The Laramie pumps almost 2 million litres of marine diesel
21:50and 380,000 litres of jet fuel across to the Robert E. Piri.
21:55It's the equivalent of over 70 road tankers of fuel.
21:59At a rate of 13,000 litres per minute,
22:02the refueling will take just under two hours.
22:08The refueling at sea is actually faster,
22:12and we can also get going as soon as we get the fuel.
22:17Bosun mate Paul Marshall is the man in charge.
22:21Bridge, Station 5, we have ship-to-ship communication.
22:24We are also hooked up and connected.
22:27Permission for them to tension the high line on signal.
22:35While Piri's fuel tanks are being topped up,
22:3880 pallets of food and supplies are being sent across to Laramie
22:42in a process called com-rep, or connected replenishment.
22:46The gentleman right here with the signal paddles is our signalman.
22:50Tells them when to heave around, when to slack off on the load
22:54so the trolley can travel back and forth in between the two ships.
22:58The system works like an industrial-strength zip line.
23:01The King Towers lift the pallets off the deck
23:04to a point that's above the receiving ship's deck.
23:07Then gravity takes over.
23:12Weighing thousands of kilograms
23:14and moving at 3.5 metres per second,
23:17these loads can be lethal if they crash into the receiving ship.
23:21Deck crews have to stay very focused.
23:24As soon as the pallets have cleared on the Laramie,
23:27the cargo hook is sent back for the next load.
23:31Piri's job is tough, dangerous and doesn't earn the crew any medals.
23:36But they know that without them, the war on pirates would be lost.
23:40Any time you hear about a motor vessel or any ship being hijacked by pirates,
23:44it makes it more important to make sure
23:46that the stuff that we are delivering is top-notch
23:49because these guys don't have the luxury
23:52of being able to pull in port to get fresh goods.
24:02For Commander Rea and his Navy colleagues,
24:05the weekly pizza night is a time to wind down.
24:08It's nice. It's nice we can chat about things other than just work.
24:14It's real good to have these.
24:16Most of Piri's civilian and military crew members are away for months at a time,
24:21making the harsh working conditions even more difficult.
24:26I live in Virginia with my wife and a three-year-old daughter.
24:30You never get used to being away from the family for extended periods of time.
24:33It never gets easier.
24:35A lot of times it's difficult to balance your mission here
24:39with maybe some cares or concerns that you have at home
24:42if you have different things going on.
24:44So my kids are a little bit older.
24:46They understand a little bit more and a little bit of a struggle,
24:49one I wasn't quite expecting.
24:52In Piri, crew quarters have more in common with a commercial cargo ship.
24:59For months at a time,
25:01Junior Supply Officer James Brown gets to call this cabin home.
25:05This is what I call home away from home.
25:08I normally sit here when I get off,
25:11unwind for a little while, watch a little television.
25:14And, of course, at the end of the night,
25:17I lay down here and get my rest, get ready for the next day.
25:20And I also have my own bathroom here,
25:24fortunately, so I don't have to share with anybody.
25:28I come here after a long, hot day, take a shower,
25:31and then, of course, go back in my room, unwind and relax.
25:35After two hours, and with the sun starting to set in the Gulf of Aden,
25:39the transfer with USNS Laramie is almost complete.
25:43Now, mark sunset.
25:45Secure all deadlights and curtains to aid in the safe navigation of the vessel.
25:50And good night, Mr. Perry.
25:53With a full load of cargo fuel,
25:55the Robert E. Piri is on to her next mission,
25:58and the most dangerous transfer yet.
26:06It's 6 a.m. in the Gulf of Aden, and it's already 42 degrees Celsius.
26:14Piri's Gulf of Aden resupply mission is now in its fourth day,
26:18and the guided missile destroyer USS Farragut
26:21is lining up for what's called a connected-at-sea replenishment.
26:25This is the most dangerous of all their operations,
26:28and where a collision is most likely to happen.
26:35USS Farragut has commenced your approach to starboard.
26:40Okay, welcome them alongside.
26:45On the USS Farragut, good afternoon, Captain Daly, officers and crew,
26:49and welcome alongside the USNS Robert E. Piri.
26:52Standby to receive our shot lines. Forward, pitch in and aft, on signal.
26:57Standby to receive shot lines from USNS Robert E. Piri.
27:02The span wires for cargo and refueling are rigged up between the two ships.
27:20Navy Commander Bill Daly's ship hasn't been to shore in two months,
27:25and is down to its final stores of fuel and food.
27:29Piri is a welcome sight.
27:32We're going to the gas station at sea. We're taking on two types of gas.
27:36One is gas that the ship runs off of,
27:38and another one is gas that we use for our two helicopters.
27:42Farragut's supply officer, Lieutenant Mike Augustine,
27:45is watching his men carefully.
27:47With the ships less than 60 meters apart
27:50and steel cables under tremendous pressure,
27:52they're back in the danger zone.
27:54We've got two huge lines of steel cables
27:56that are actually tensioned between two ships.
27:58And if any of these cables snap or anything happens,
28:00we drop the load, everyone's in danger.
28:02That's why you see everybody with hard hats.
28:04We've got life vests on.
28:05We want to do everything we can to mitigate that danger.
28:07Right now we're taking between 40 and 50 pallets,
28:10which is, for us, a pretty big hit.
28:13With a front-row view of the replenishment,
28:15Commander Rea has saved the best shipment for last.
28:19We're going to send the album.
28:22We're going to send a pallet over
28:24that's going to be wrapped in a black shroud.
28:26That's going to be very special.
28:28It's going to be guaranteed to be a morale booster for the crew.
28:31Back on the Farragut,
28:32they keep a close eye on the big black shipment.
28:35The black mat on the surrounding net
28:37is actually extra thermal protection from the sun,
28:40which brings much out right now.
28:42Normally out here in the Middle East,
28:44it's really hot, and all this stuff sits on deck.
28:46We don't want it to melt, so that helps it,
28:48keeps it insulated.
28:50Captain Suppo, your ice cream just came aboard, sir.
28:52Ice cream, arriving.
28:55Yes, sir.
28:56Be careful, Suppo.
28:58Ice cream restored.
29:00We get in a lot of trouble by the big world
29:02if we don't get our weapons and stuff aboard,
29:04but we do a good job with that.
29:06And all of a sudden, if ice cream doesn't come aboard,
29:08then it's like a mutiny on board.
29:10With the suffocating humidity
29:12and a temperature hovering around 46 degrees Celsius on Piri's deck,
29:16the unrelenting heat is more than a discomfort.
29:19It can kill.
29:24Today the sun's blasting down on us pretty hot,
29:27so it's important to make sure
29:29that all the crew gets hydrated real well.
29:31Because with this heat, people sweat out a lot of salt fast,
29:35and you're going to have people going down with heat stress.
29:38Captain Horner doesn't want any of his crew
29:40to collapse from heatstroke.
29:42He makes sure that medical officer Nicole Schaunder
29:45keeps them hydrated.
29:47Some places, depending on where we've been,
29:49the radiant temperature as to what black has absorbed
29:52is basically about 125, 126 degrees.
29:57Using a dehydration chart,
29:59Schaunder ensures the men are getting half a litre of water every hour.
30:03Any less, and she'd be seeing them in the infirmary.
30:10The heat is not the only invisible enemy.
30:13Another one churns in the water between the two ships.
30:17When they are in parallel moving forward,
30:19you get wake going off both of the bows,
30:21and the wake is hitting each other.
30:23What happens is that positive pressure up forward
30:25causes the bows to push apart,
30:27and the sterns actually go to...
30:29The aft ends of both ships actually go together,
30:31and you run the risk of a collision.
30:35With less than 60 metres of separation,
30:37the two hulls create a funnel,
30:39forcing water to accelerate between them
30:41and creating an area of instability.
30:43This is called the Venturi effect,
30:45and it's forcing the bows apart and the sterns together.
30:50So you've got the laws of physics working completely against you
30:53in this operation.
30:55That's really one of the major things that makes it
30:57the most dangerous peacetime operation that we do in the Navy.
31:00Farragut's Captain Daly knows a collision could cost lives.
31:03Everyone needs to be vigilant.
31:05As we're driving the ship,
31:07we are literally driving half degrees of course changes
31:10in order to stay alongside,
31:12as well as single RPM changes of the ship's RPMs, the shafts,
31:16in order to maintain perfect stationing alongside this ship
31:19to make sure that we don't have a, you know, a collision here at sea.
31:25The Farragut's fuel tanks are full,
31:27and the hoses are pulled back to Piri.
31:30But the tensioned span wires are still attached.
31:36In this moment of danger,
31:38Captain Daly springs a high-pressure drill on his crew.
31:43It's called an emergency breakaway.
31:46They have one minute to sever their link with the Piri.
31:50This is a drill. This is a drill.
31:52Emergency breakaway. Emergency breakaway.
32:05Those were the emergency warnings from the whistle that we're doing.
32:10Now they're doing it over there.
32:15So, responding, executing the emergency there as well.
32:19We are also now accelerating how we break away all of our stations,
32:22both on the Robert E. Piri and on Port Farragut here.
32:26Time is critical, and teamwork is key.
32:29The longer it takes, the more dangerous it is,
32:32as the gap between the two ships grows.
32:36We're watching our distance lines between the two ships
32:39while this is occurring to make sure everybody's adrenaline starts going.
32:43The crews on both ships have seconds to disengage the connected span wire
32:47so that Farragut can break away.
32:51He's getting ready now to position this for detensioning.
32:54And there he goes. He just detensioned the line.
32:56So now we're getting ready to trip it over here and start to drive away.
33:01Farragut's four massive gas turbine engines
33:04put out maximum power, and she slices through the sea at over 30 knots,
33:08leaving the Piri in her wake.
33:11And Piri's on to her next, and biggest, mission yet.
33:22Day six of the resupply mission,
33:24and another blistering day in the Gulf of Aden.
33:27USNS Piri and her crew have been assigned an important but solemn task.
33:33During the night, one of the civilian mariners
33:35aboard the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Laramie died of a heart attack.
33:42One of the Piri's helicopters will pick up the body
33:44and carry it to the US Navy base in Djibouti.
33:49For the crew, it's a sad day,
33:51and a chance to say goodbye to a fellow mariner
33:53as he begins his final journey home to the United States.
34:02There's little time for reflection.
34:04Up next, her biggest client yet,
34:07the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower
34:10and her crew of almost 6,000.
34:14Now re-in on your flight quarter stations.
34:17Flight quarter, flight quarter.
34:20She's on her way home from a six-month deployment in the Arabian Sea,
34:24where her aircraft flew daily combat missions into Afghanistan.
34:28On the flight deck, clear the flight deck of all unauthorized personnel.
34:31All personnel, helmets on, straps and goggles down.
34:34No loose gear about the person.
34:36The giant carrier is positioning near to Piri for an aerial replenishment.
34:42OK, guys, let's move it out.
34:47We're checking to make sure there's no flood out here,
34:49which is foreign object debris.
34:51We want to make sure that nothing goes up in the rotors,
34:54goes into the engines when they turn up.
34:58USS Eisenhower is now a safe 500 metres away and holding position.
35:04The two ships won't be connected.
35:06It's a helicopter-only operation.
35:12And this time, Piri's got help.
35:15One of the carrier's Seahawks is also taking part.
35:20Eisenhower may be one of the world's most powerful warships,
35:23but ships like Robert E. Piri keep her in business.
35:28We could not do our mission without logistics,
35:31and ships like the Robert E. Piri provide an invaluable service
35:34to us here on the carrier.
35:37Eisenhower Captain D. Newborn has a crew that needs feeding
35:41and aircraft that needs spare parts.
35:44They also need packing supplies.
35:46When they get back to port, the aircraft will fly off the carrier,
35:50but everything else needs to be boxed up.
35:53Today, a lot of the supplies that we're getting will support our homecoming.
35:57We don't need them until it's time to go home,
36:00but then when we do, we need a lot of boxes to put things in,
36:03so right now we're bringing on the boxes and pallets
36:06that will facilitate that offload.
36:10Flight deck tower, let's go ahead and break out the freeze and chill,
36:13get it out on station.
36:15From Piri's control tower,
36:17Commander Rea keeps tabs on what's being sent over to Eisenhower.
36:21And what's being brought back.
36:25Aircraft carriers are some of the largest ships in the world.
36:29But there's not much room on board.
36:31Large items like broken aircraft engines are being sent back to Piri.
36:38We pull them to port, we get them inducted back into the system,
36:41so we get them back to the States, get back in the repair shop,
36:44so that you've got a ready service engine,
36:46ready to come back out in the theatre to fight the war.
36:50Captains are paid to worry.
36:52And with multiple helicopters carrying loads from ship to ship,
36:56there's always a chance that something can go wrong.
36:59Our margins are already measured in inches and seconds.
37:02It's just the nature of our business.
37:04So if we have a malfunction that closes those margins,
37:07then that's what I worry about.
37:09Now, that could be a malfunction on the ship,
37:11it could be a malfunction in the helicopter in the air,
37:14with one of the lines or with personnel cabin crew,
37:16so it's a constant worry.
37:18In Piri's control tower, Mike Hodge has many of the same worries.
37:22He's a civilian pilot with over 20,000 hours of flight time
37:26and the man in charge of Piri's air detachment.
37:30I've been in the helicopter business for...
37:32I'm going into my 40th year now,
37:34and in that 40-year time span, I have lost 39 good friends.
37:39And it just shows that it's not easy.
37:43And it just shows that it only takes one small mistake one time.
37:49So you have to stay very sharp, you have to stay focused all the time.
37:55And today, the crew comes close to a small mistake that could cost lives.
38:01Loose packing boxes are in danger of being sucked
38:03into the helicopter's engines and rotors.
38:07The cardboard is light, and with the banding on there,
38:09we started seeing some of the cardboard coming apart from the rotor wash.
38:14So it got a little tricky.
38:17Five-dollar cardboard boxes
38:19that could take down a multi-million-dollar helicopter.
38:23Flight deck responded quickly
38:25by making sure everything was strapped down properly.
38:28Make sure we don't have any piece of cardboard
38:30frotting the aircraft or foreign object debris, it's called,
38:34to hit either the rotor blades or get sucked into an engine.
38:38Back on the carrier, the deck crew moves quickly
38:40to get the pallets off the flight deck,
38:43onto the huge aircraft elevator, and safely into the hangar deck.
38:50Eisenhower's supply officer, Commander Rob Daer, keeps things moving.
38:54About 40,000 to 50,000 pounds a week is what we get from these guys.
38:59It's a combination of supplies, fresh fruit and vegetables,
39:03some ship-store material.
39:05Usually what we do is come out, make sure we've got what we want,
39:09and then bring the forklifts out to take it off.
39:13Now secure from flight quarters. Secure from flight quarters.
39:17Peary's Puma is back on the flight deck,
39:20and USS Eisenhower is on the move.
39:22In another four weeks, she'll be back in her home port of Norfolk, Virginia.
39:28But while other ships head home after their deadly duty at sea,
39:32Peary will stay on a relentless cycle,
39:34returning to port to pick up more supplies,
39:37and then it's right back out to sea.
39:40Turnaround is 24 hours, there's no R&R,
39:44and she won't go home for almost nine months.
39:48You always think, oh, it's a piece of cake, we've done this before.
39:51Each time it gets a little bit more difficult.
39:53It doesn't get any easier.
39:59Like the rest of the crew,
40:01Peter Horner is used to the rhythm of seven days out and one day in.
40:05It's kind of like a round-robin.
40:07We go into Djibouti load, come out, run through our customers,
40:10turn around, go back into Djibouti, reload, come back out.
40:14As Peary gets closer to Djibouti,
40:16hot desert winds deliver an added level of discomfort.
40:20It looks like a haze, but it's actually dust in the air.
40:24From blowing off of the Somalian Djibouti coast there,
40:28you can actually feel it in your teeth.
40:30It's really difficult for visibility when you have traffic in the area,
40:34when you can't see them more than three miles away.
40:37So it can be extremely dangerous.
40:43As Peary approaches her pier,
40:45trucks, cranes and forklifts are ready for action.
40:48There's no time to lose.
40:52Cargo ships and planes are brought in fresh food, supplies and spare parts.
40:57And Commander Raya is standing by
40:59to get them loaded on board for their next mission.
41:03Well, right now you're seeing stage all the dry cargo.
41:06We're probably going to have about 15 freeze-and-chill trucks show up on the pier.
41:11OK, roger that. How's the stuff looking? Is it looking fresh?
41:15All right, this one's good to go. Send it up.
41:18And we'll be back out for another fun week,
41:21taking care of customers out there battling pirates.
41:25Broken aircraft engines, recyclable waste and mail for home is offloaded.
41:34While pallets loaded with fresh produce,
41:36frozen food and military supplies are craned aboard.
41:40We're almost finished now. We're loading the dry cargo for the fleet.
41:44This is Fleet Freight.
41:45We have about two or three different colour codes
41:47that we're getting ready to stage here on the main deck.
41:50Make sure everybody stays hydrated and cool as much as possible.
41:57OK, good.
42:00Down in the holds, more crew are organising cargo
42:03for the next group of warship customers.
42:08It's just another fast 24-hour load and turnaround for the lifeblood of the Navy.
42:16Us being able to bring the supplies that the Navy needs
42:19to stay on station, to fight the pirates, is very fulfilling.
42:31Very well.
42:40We do like our work,
42:42and it's nice to be able to support the Navy in the anti-piracy effort.
42:49USNS Robert E. Peary,
42:51one of the most advanced class of Navy resupply ships in the world,
42:55and a critical member of the fleet battling pirates on the high seas.
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