From an average of five to six vessels anchored off Saipan’s western shore, the number of prepositioning ships is now down to two or three.
Each of these ships, according to shipping agents, has an average of 40 civilian crew members who spend money on island on a daily basis.
But members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s armed forces committee said military officials assured them that there are no plans to remove the remaining prepositioning ships from Saipan.
Attended by the committee’s co-chairmen, Doug Brennan and Judge David Wiseman, the meeting was held because the chamber heard about rumors that the ships were departing the CNMI permanently.
The chamber, in a statement, said: “We may see a decreased presence [of the ships] because of decommissioning and rebalancing which are outside of our control.”
The military reminded the chamber that the ships are not homeported on Saipan, but are forward deployed anywhere in the Western Pacific — meaning, they can be assigned to any areas of responsibility.
The ships also undergo regular stateside maintenance cycle, and some may eventually have to be decommissioned, the military told the chamber.
The chamber said it was reminded “that although the officials and crews of the ships enjoy a close relationship with the CNMI, the squadron is operated similar to a business [entity that] considers flexibility, security, logistics and fiscal efficiency.”
Sales drop
Triple J’s Five Star Food Wholesale said that the reduction of the number of prepositioning ships caused a more than 37 percent drop in its sales.
Five Star Food Wholesale provides the ships with food supplies.
Triple J said five ships could purchase $500,000 of food items a year.
This figure is now down by 37 percent.
Ariel Dumapit, the manager of Inchscape, said in a separate interview that although some of the ships significantly contributed to their sales, they are “not affected too much,” by the reduction of the ships’ presence.
Inschscape provides the ships’ crewmembers with transportation, hotel reservations, hospitalization and food provisions.
Hotels, car rentals and bars on Saipan will be “hit hard,” Dumapit said.
The chamber said the CNMI must recognize that it is in competition with a number of other ports in the world.
The government and companies doing business with these ships “need to understand that although options may be limited on Saipan, they are not limited in the very large Pacific region…. The squadron, like any business, will seek out places that offer the most convenient logistical options at the lowest cost,” the chamber stated.
