Composite Advantage FRP Camels Join the U.S. Naval Base Guam

Infrastructure maintenance posed challenges for U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG) due to lack of services and support on the tiny western Pacific island. NBG handles submarine deployment for the 7th fleet and is home port to four Los Angeles-class attack submarines. Camels prevent damage to vessels and port structures when submersibles are berthed or moored, but conventional materials make the external flotation structures prone to high maintenance and frequent replacement. NBG found a solution with Composite Advantage’s corrosion resistant, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite universal submarine camels. A set of two FRP camels 36 ft. long, 18 ft. high and 17 ft. deep, weighing 70,000 lbs. each were fabricated in Composite Advantage’s Dayton, Ohio factory and shipped to Whittier, California in December 2019. The camels travelled 6,111 miles by ship to Guam, arriving January 13, 2020. Finally assembled at a Guam shipyard, the two camels were set in the water and tugged to the naval base where they were moored to the pier ready for use. Composite Advantage has been designing and fabricating FRP universal camels for the Navy since 2013. For identifying growth opportunities for composite materials in the global boating industry, please visit http://www.lucintel.com/composite_in_boating_market_2020.aspx