The SL7EXPO project, which aims to preserve one of the groundbreaking SL-7 Sea-Land Container ships as a maritime exposition center in support of the SHIPS for America Act, has received seed funding from the Society of Marine Port Engineers.
Originally built by containerization innovator, Malcolm McLean, as 33 knot container ships, the eight SL-7 class ships were converted into Fast Sealift Ships by the US Government in the early 1980s. Their conversion into Roll on/Roll off vessels provided the US Government with a tactical sea lift capability that was vital in military operations such as Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Their good structural condition, groundbreaking history, and massive interior unobstructed deck areas makes them perfectly suited as training and exposition centers to promote maritime and intermodal awareness.
The Society of Marine Port Engineers strongly supports the SL7EXPO effort and its board has provided seed funding from its educational foundation fund.
The Society of Marine Port Engineers (SMPE) was founded after World War II when the US merchant fleet was the largest in the world to support the education, welfare and technical advancement of port engineers. Port engineers are maritime engineering professionals who are responsible for the shore based management of ship operations, particularly with regard to vessel construction and maintenance and the resolution of shipboard technical issues.
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