Logistics: More Berthing Barges Boost Morale
September 7, 2023: The U.S. Navy is expanding the number of APL-S-67 berthing barges it operates. These vessels are towed to where they are needed to temporarily house sailors while their ships are being updated, repaired or new ones completed. The navy has used these barges since World War II but the current ABL 67 class barges did not begin to appear until recently. A new class of berthing barges will begin to show up in 2024. These barges are the best solution for housing sailors temporarily.
In 2021 navy received the first of at least five APL-S-67 berthing barges. These Auxiliary Personnel Lighter-Small berthing barges are a new design, and the first new navy berthing barge design since the 1950s. Sailors who have seen the new APL-67s report that in addition to being new, they have a lot of the new features sailors have long sought for these temporary accommodations. These features include a post office, barber shop, bank, classrooms, laundry, medical clinic and exercise room.
The older berthing barges have not aged gracefully and the navy did not put a high priority on spending money required to keep the elderly berthing barges at least as accommodating as living quarters on warships. Another problem was that there were not enough berthing barges available to meet demand. In some emergency situations sailors are housed in local hotels temporarily and the difference between that and a berthing barge was considerable. Worse, many sailors or close kin had spent time on commercial berthing barges used in remote work sites. This was the standard the new navy berthing barges had to match.
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