Light Line Transfer

"Every now and again opportunities surface to do things that are out of the ordinary. One such opportunity appeared not long ago when we crossed paths with French Ship SURCOUF. Many of our NATO allies still practice “light line transfers”, to pass small items between ships in a pouch attached to a line. The practice originated so ships could pass correspondence and messages at sea, and while it’s not used much any longer, the French Navy still must practice the procedure for proficiency. So, they invited RUSSELL to give it a go and we accepted.

RUSSELL’s key task was to maintain a very steady course and speed while SURCOUF approached from astern. On our signal, SURCOUF positioned herself off our wake at a safe distance for a short time to get a feel for the range of speeds needed to hold position close enough to pass a line. Next, she signaled her approach and increased speed slightly to slowly close the distance. Once in place, she slowed to maintain station and readied for the transfer."


The Destroyerman