(RepublicanPress.org) – In late April, the Defense Department confirmed that US military personnel started constructing a temporary pier to help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. US Central Command (USCENTCOM) workers attached the Trident Pier to Gaza’s shore on May 16, and trucks quickly started transferring materials ashore. Nine days later, heavy seas caused several mooring sections to break free, disabling the span.
Recent reports indicated that workers transported the Trident to Israel for repairs.
Pier Transported for Repairs
On May 28, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh held a press conference to discuss the untimely demise of the Trident Pier. She confirmed that several motorized pier sections used to stabilize the temporary span broke free due to “heavy sea states” and North Africa’s volatile weather system. She said several motorized pier sections broke free from their anchors and ran ashore.
Singh told reporters that officials would remove the Trident Pier from its remaining anchors within 48 hours and tow the span to Ashdod, Israel. She confirmed that USCENTCOM personnel would conduct the necessary repairs.
The deputy press secretary estimated that repairs would take more than a week. She said the personnel would transport the Trident Pier back to Gaza and anchor it as soon as USCENTCOM officials determined it was fully operational again.
Trident Pier Effective While It Lasted
Singh told reporters that the Trident Pier had proven “highly valuable in delivering aid” to people in Gaza. She said trucks transported more than 1,000 metric tons (1,102.31 US tons or roughly 2,204,620 pounds) of humanitarian aid materials and delivered them to the Palestinians.
Media outlets reported that thousands of metric tons of food remained stranded in Cyprus due to the pier’s demise. Once the Trident Pier returns its operations to full capacity, it can feed as many as half a million people.
However, US officials have stressed the need to create additional checkpoints along land crossings. Experts say the Trident Pier lacks the capability of providing adequate food supplies for Gaza’s remaining 1.8 million residents. They also warned that US airlifts could not meet current demands.
Some Good News
Fortunately, not all the news surrounding the Trident Pier is terrible. On June 5, Singh told attendees of a routine DOD press conference some good news. She began by noting that earlier estimates placed the overall cost of the construction and initial maintenance of the Trident Pier at approximately $320 million.
However, unanticipated lower costs for commercial vessels, contracted trucks, and drivers, coupled with the UK’s contribution of a berthing vessel for US military personnel, lowered America’s overall cost for the project. Singh told reporters the latest cost assessment placed the price tag at only $230 million, a reduction of about $90 million.
Singh did advise that the new estimate didn’t include the total price tag for repairs on the Trident Pier.
Copyright 2024, RepublicanPress.org
