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MV Cape Sable (T-AKR 5586)

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Delivered in 2013 as commercial roll-on/roll-off and container-capable ship JOLLY QUARZO, she was purchased by the Maritime Administration in 2023 and was subsequently prepared for military use. Renamed MV CAPE SABLE (T-AKR 5586), she was assigned to the Ready Reserve Force. CAPE SABLE is presently maintained in reduced operating status in a layberth at San Francisco, Calif.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard MV CAPE SABLE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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MV CAPE SABLE History:

CAPE SABLE (T-AKR 5586) began life as the Italian-flagged commercial roll-on/roll-off and container-capable ship JOLLY QUARZO, built for the Ignazio Messina group's "JOLLY" fleet renewal program. The ship was constructed at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's yard at Okpo on Geoje Island in South Korea and was delivered to its owner on February 21, 2013. Entering service under the name JOLLY QUARZO, it operated for years in regular commercial trade as part of Messina's liner network.

The next clearly documentable transition came in the context of the United States' effort to recapitalize and modernize strategic surge sealift capacity. On July 28, 2021, Crowley was selected by the Maritime Administration under a vessel acquisition manager contract intended to help identify and acquire suitable used commercial ships for the Ready Reserve Force - an acquisition framework that later supported the procurement of modern, relatively young roll-on/roll-off tonnage for government custody. In early 2023, JOLLY QUARZO was purchased for U.S. government service and renamed CAPE SABLE. Title transfer to the Maritime Administration is recorded as April 18, 2023, and the ship's formal entry into the National Defense Reserve Fleet inventory system is recorded as April 17, 2023. From that point, CAPE SABLE was accounted for as a Ready Reserve Force roll-on/roll-off division vessel, with the ship's design/use field ultimately standardized in the government inventory as a "vehicle carrier" for Ready Reserve Force purposes.

During 2023, CAPE SABLE underwent the practical work needed to transition a modern foreign-built commercial ship into U.S. strategic reserve service, including re-flagging steps, regulatory preparations, and readiness workstreams associated with joining the Ready Reserve Force. Reporting from the American Maritime Officers union describes licensed officers working aboard CAPE SABLE in Virginia during May 2023 while the ship was undergoing preparations for Ready Reserve Force service, and the same reporting situates that work in the broader process of bringing multiple newly acquired "CAPE S" ships into the fleet. The Maritime Administration's own inventory change log then captures a key administrative milestone on August 16, 2023, when CAPE SABLE's ship-number field was updated to reflect its Ready Reserve Force hull identification as AKR 5586.

By late 2023 and into 2024, the Maritime Administration publicly described CAPE SABLE as one of several newly delivered acquisitions being modified and brought into compliance for operational readiness, including the steps necessary to obtain the appropriate U.S. Coast Guard certification for operation. On January 17, 2024, Maritime Administration leadership publicly cited CAPE SABLE among the modern ships delivered for Ready Reserve Force recapitalization and described the ongoing work - such as modifications and certification actions - needed before full operational availability. In the National Defense Reserve Fleet inventory change log for June 2024, CAPE SABLE's status remarks were updated in the government accounting system to continue reflecting the title transfer date and the anticipated initial operational capability timeline then associated with the ship's entry into the Ready Reserve Force.

A decisive readiness milestone is captured a year later in the May 2025 inventory change log: CAPE SABLE is recorded with an initial operational capability date of June 28, 2024, reflecting the point at which the ship was considered to have reached that operational threshold within the Ready Reserve Force framework. In parallel with readiness maturation, the ship's accountable layberth assignment evolved. CAPE SABLE's early Ready Reserve Force accounting placed it on the U.S. East Coast, consistent with the transitional work described in 2023-2024. On October 22, 2024, for example, official defense imagery documentation recorded the Commander of U.S. Transportation Command visiting CAPE SABLE in Norfolk, an indicator of the ship's role within the broader U.S. strategic mobility enterprise at that time and a sign of senior-level attention to the recapitalization effort and reserve readiness posture.

In 2025, the Maritime Administration inventory record documents a major geographic reassignment: on May 27, 2025, CAPE SABLE's status remarks were updated to note a planned shift to Pier 80 in San Francisco, aligning the ship with Pacific-area layberthing and the strategic logic of distributing Ready Reserve Force capability across multiple coastal nodes. By the end-of-year government accounting snapshot for December 31, 2025, CAPE SABLE is listed in the Ready Reserve Force roll-on/roll-off division under the Pacific accountable division, with its assigned location stated as Pier 80, San Francisco, California, and its status recorded as active in the Ready Reserve Force.

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MV CAPE SABLE Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the CAPE SABLE at Norfolk, Va., on October 9, 2023.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the CAPE SABLE at Norfolk, Va., on October 4, 2024.

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