MV Cape San Roman (T-AKR 5589)

- formerly AL SAMHA, formerly JOLLY VANADIO -

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Delivered in 2015 as commercial roll-on/roll-off and container-capable ship JOLLY VANADIO, she was purchased by Abu Dhabi Ports in 2023, renamed AL SAMHA, before aquired by the Maritime Administration in 2024. Renamed MV CAPE SAN ROMAN (T-AKR 5589), she was subsequently prepared for military use and assigned to the Ready Reserve Force. CAPE SAN ROMAN is presently maintained in reduced operating status in a layberth at Norfolk, Va.

General Characteristics:	Delivered: April 10, 2015
	Builder: Stx Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Jinhae, South Korea
	Purchased by MARAD: December 2024
	Propulsion system: Single low-speed diesel main engine (HHI Engine & Machinery Division 7L70ME-C8), 22,890 kW at 108 rpm
	Propellers: one
	Length: 784 feet (239 meters)
	Beam: 123 feet (37.5 meters)
	Draft: 37.7 feet (11.5 meters)
	Displacement: 65,545 tons full load
	Speed: 21.5 knots
	Aircraft: none
	Armament: none
	Capacity: Militarily useful capacity 220,593 sq ft; 1,306 TEU
	Crew: approx. 10 civilian mariners in ROS
	Homeport: Norfolk, Va.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard MV CAPE SAN ROMAN. 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 SAN ROMAN History:

CAPE SAN ROMAN (T-AKR 5589) is a modern ConRo (combined roll-on/roll-off and container) ship that began life in commercial service as JOLLY VANADIO, built in 2015 for the Italian operator Ignazio Messina & C. and employed on long-haul liner and project-cargo trades linking Europe with the Middle East and multiple African regions.

In mid-2023, Messina agreed to sell its remaining group of four ConRo ships - JOLLY VANADIO among them - to Abu Dhabi Ports, a transaction that marked the end of this hull's Messina ownership and began its transition away from commercial deployment under the "JOLLY" fleet identity. During the transition period, registry-style vessel histories associate the same hull with the name AL SAMHA in 2024 before it reappeared under U.S. control as CAPE SAN ROMAN. The U.S. government's fleet accounting provides the clearest dated pivot: the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet inventory records CAPE SAN ROMAN as entering the fleet on December 3, 2024, assigned to the Ready Reserve Force roll-on/roll-off force at Lambert's Point in Norfolk, Virginia. From that point, the ship's publicly documented role shifts from commercial trading to readiness-managed surge sealift: it is maintained as a government-controlled roll-on/roll-off-capable asset intended to be activated when Department of Defense requirements demand additional vehicle and sustainment lift. In the public inventory for December 31, 2025, CAPE SAN ROMAN is listed as an active Ready Reserve Force ship at Lambert's Point.

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MV CAPE SAN ROMAN Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the CAPE SAN ROMAN - still with the name AL SAMHA on the bow - at Lambert's Point, Norfolk, Va., on May 31, 2025.

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