US military contracting vessels will haul back Army boats used in Gaza pier mission

The U.S. Army boats involved in the Gaza humanitarian pier mission are slated to be hauled back to the U.S. by civilian contractors, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

Though the timeline remains unclear, a defense official said the U.S. Army will be contracting Float-On/Float-Off vessels because it is safer and more cost-effective entering hurricane season. 

The three boats are flat-bottomed with low sides, which makes for unsafe conditions for the crew traveling in rough waters, the official said. It’s not clear how much the contract will cost. 

The three U.S. Army boats — the Monterrey, Matamoros and Wilson Wharf — are docked in Souda Bay in Crete, Greece. 

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Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said earlier Thursday that around 6 million pounds of aid remains on the MV Cape Trinity, which recently left Cyprus and is moving to Ashdod. 

“We’re hoping within the next couple days, you’re going to see a roll-off,” Singh said. “And when that happens, the Cape Trinity will be redeployed.” 

Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) and sailors attached to the MV Roy P. Benavidez assemble the Roll-On, Roll-Off Distribution Facility (RRDF), or floating pier, off the shore of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea April 26, 2024.  (U.S. Army via AP)

The U.S. military quietly started shutting down the humanitarian pier in Gaza last month. The $230 million operation was plagued with difficulties, with distribution cited as a key factor in shutting it down.

President Biden outlined his plan for the humanitarian operation during his State of the Union speech in March. The president pledged to establish a temporary pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the territory as millions remain displaced while Israel continues to hunt Hamas. 

The Pentagon announced that the completion of the piers, one that would remain several miles offshore while the other acted as a causeway onto the Gazan shore, was completed around May 9 but faced difficulty during deployment over the following week.

The Pentagon estimated the cost of the pier’s construction at roughly $230 million, and many congressional members publicly criticized the effort. 

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Humanitarian aid will now be delivered through a maritime corridor in Cyprus to Ashdod before going into Gaza, a fully civilian-run operation. 

Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken contributed to this report.