Haiti : USNS Comfort arrives in Haiti, More ships on Way

[dilip]

An aerial view of the port at Port-au-Prince the day after the earthquake

U.S. Military helicopters began ferrying victims of the earthquake to the USNS Comfort Wednesday, the hospital ship which will provide much-needed support the medical teams working so heroically over this past week - and they all hope the Comfort lives up to her name. The Comfort's 1000-bed capacity should max out quickly - in the two hours CBS News was on board, that patient count more than doubled, from 40 to 83.

The U.S. military is sending additional ships to help with earthquake recovery in Haiti, including one that could remove debris blocking the main port, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. Already the U.S. Military Sealift Command salvage-and-rescue ship USNS Grasp with heavy-lift cranes and an Army engineer diving team is in Haiti to remove debris and rubble that has jammed the small Port-au-Prince harbor and the Cap-Haitien port since the earthquake .

The U.S. Maritime Administration said it is sending five auxiliary ships to assemble a floating port. Two more crane ships, a special causeway-and-barge-handling ship, an oil-delivery ship and a high-speed ferry will also be sent to join the Navy and Coast Guard ships now there, the Maritime Administration said in an announcement.

The Crimson Clover, which is a commercial roll-on/roll-off barge with two 46-foot (14-meter) extendable ramps and a top-loader for lifting out cargo, is in Port-au-Prince and has begun unloading operations, according to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The barge does not require a working pier to unload its cargo.

The USNS 1st LT Jack Lummus is loading cargo destined for Haiti at Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Florida. The cargo comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Marine Corps and other U.S. government agencies.