Selecting Maritime Disaster Response Capabilities

Using a structured, qualitative evaluation schema complemented by expert rating, we evaluate the capabilities and utility of ships in the United States Navy and United States Military Sealift inventory.   We find that there are specific types of vessels with significant disaster response utility and recommend a flotilla type that would be best suited for these types of operations. Utilizing an exploratory framework that evaluates three diverse disaster cases, we scale the utility of each vessel using subject matter experts. This work should be of interest to national policy-makers as well as international governing bodies and leaders of naval institutions for its recommendations on the type of ships most useful for contributing to effective disaster response. The capabilities identified in this research are found in various naval and maritime organizations throughout the world, and this work can help assist those organizations identify the types of capabilities that are most useful in the event of a disaster.  DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p40-58 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p40-58