War on Iran forced U.S. Navy to reinvent at-sea logistics, Military Sealift Command official says
NewsApril 21, 2026
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland. The loss of access to Middle East fuel infrastructure following the United States' attack on Iran in Operation Epic Fury forced the Navy to fundamentally rethink how it sustains ships at sea, a senior Military Sealift Command official said at the Sea-Air-Space exposition here.
Robert Hein, director of maritime operations for Military Sealift Command, said the bombing of Iran and the nation's subsequent attack on U.S. bases and infrastructure nearby effectively shut down the logistics hub the Navy had relied on for 25 years in the Middle East -- which he described as the equivalent of "the parking lot of a giant gas station" -- forcing his command to develop new at-sea replenishment solutions on the fly.
"Epic Fury has been a PhD course in logistics," Hein said.
The centerpiece of that effort is what Hein called a "tanker treadmill" -- a system of commercial tankers cycling continuously in and out of the operational area to replace the fixed shore-based logistics nodes that are no longer accessible. Those tankers have been equipped so they can refuel oilers and other vessels at sea. MSC is also adding a supplemental fuel delivery system to the tankers that will allow them to replenish a broader range of ship types beyond oilers -- a workaround Hein described as a mitigation for the Navy's current oiler shortfall.
Hein said the next step is extending the tanker treadmill concept beyond fuel to food and other consumables.
The episode has also deepened MSC's relationship with industry, Hein said, with his command bringing operational problems directly to commercial partners and receiving solutions in return.
