“Epic Fury has been a PhD course in logistics,” said Robert Hein, Director of Maritime Operations for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), summing up how recent Iranian missile and drone barrages forced a rethink of how the U.S. Navy keeps ships fueled in the Middle East.
From port hubs to “tanker treadmills”: the operational pivot under Operation Epic Fury
The Navy shifted away from relying on fixed port infrastructure after Iranian strikes—including a missile strike on the main headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Manama on February 28, 2026—disrupted logistics and placed ships at risk. MSC returned to consolidated cargo operations (CONSOL) tankers: commercially chartered vessels specially equipped to offload fuel at sea so fleet oilers need not return to vulnerable ports. “Iran has effectively shut down that gas station,” Hein said at the Sea-Air-Space 2026 exposition near Washington, D.C., arguing that logistics nodes now “are remaining at sea.”
How CONSOL tankers are being used and adapted
CONSOL operations were reintroduced by MSC in 2015 as a flexible platform to operate worldwide. Under the current approach, MSC leases commercial tankers and equips them to deliver fuel to Navy oilers at sea. Hein described a system of “tanker treadmills” with vessels “cycling in and out” to maintain fleet fuel levels without predictable port visits. The Navy has also discussed a Modular CONSOL Adapter Kit (MCAK) that, “by installing it on the deck of a tanker, it can refuel other ships through the receiving ship’s fuel delivery hoses,” the Navy explained. Hein said the service is even exploring the broader use of CONSOL for supplies beyond fuel, noting, “While we can CONSOL for fuel, I’d like to get to a point where you CONSOL for food as well.”
Capacity constraints: 15 CONSOL tankers and TRANSCOM’s push for more
There are currently 15 CONSOL tankers available worldwide. Rear Adm. Chris Stone, Director of Strategic Plans, Policy, Logistics and Warfighting Development for U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), said that number is insufficient. “We probably need something more than 15,” he said at the same SAS panel, explaining that geographic combatant commanders commonly request CONSOL vessels during crises and that shortages require tradeoffs that “create risk in other areas.” Stone described CONSOL vessels as “no longer supply ships. They’re not logistics ships. They’re force projection platforms,” adding that in less than two years the capacity had been increased “dramatically, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Operational tradeoffs: time, maneuverability, and risk
CONSOL operations carry notable tradeoffs. The Navy notes that CONSOling can take hours: an oiler typically takes about two hours to refuel a destroyer, while a tanker generally requires about six hours to perform the same task. That extended time on station, combined with the greater size and reduced maneuverability of tankers, creates challenges. “We simply do not maneuver like the [oilers] do,” said Capt. Michelle Laycock, Maersk Peary’s master. “There’s not a lot of ‘grace’ to a fully loaded tanker. We don’t glide, we plow through the water.” Despite those limits, MSC leaders view the tradeoffs as worthwhile for reducing port visits by critical assets and keeping fuel suppliers out of the most dangerous zones.
What this means for the Navy, U.S. Transportation Command, and chartered tanker operators
- The Navy: Will sustain and expand at-sea CONSOL operations to reduce reliance on vulnerable ports, pursue equipment such as the MCAK to enable tankers to refuel surface combatants directly, and explore using CONSOL for other supplies such as food.
- U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM): Will press for an increase in the number of CONSOL tankers beyond the current 15 to meet demand from geographic combatant commanders and to avoid tradeoffs that raise risk elsewhere.
- Chartered tanker operators: Must adapt to longer at-sea refueling evolutions and the maneuvering demands of close alongside transfers; operators already note the operational difficulty of CONSOling a large, fully loaded tanker with smaller, more agile replenishment ships.
Iranian attacks that removed fixed logistics hubs have driven a concrete operational shift: fuel and other logistics nodes are being pushed to sea, and commercial CONSOL tankers have become central to keeping ships on station. Navy and TRANSCOM leaders say capacity has increased rapidly in under two years, but both the time required for at-sea transfers and the current fleet size—15 CONSOL tankers worldwide—remain constraints they intend to address.
Source: https://www.twz.com/sea/iranian-attacks-change-way-navy-refuels-its-ships-in-middle-east
