A large vessel that’s been attracting attention on the Harbor this week is here in its role of transporting military support vehicles to joint force exercises in Australia. At 635 feet, the vessel is about as long as two football fields.

The Port of Grays Harbor said that the Cape Orlando a “roll-on/roll-off” military transport vessel, is at Terminal 4 loading vehicles and supplies that have been transported to their facility over the past two months. Roll-on/roll-off refers to the ability to accommodate vehicles driving onto the ship rather than requiring a crane to move the cargo from port property.

A news release from the Surface Deployment and Distribution, 833rd Transportation Battalion, said that they will receive and process equipment at the port belonging to the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division, 4th Air Defense Artillery, and various U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard units. The equipment will include a variety of military vehicles, mobile artillery systems and containers.

Equipment arrived at the Port of Grays Harbor by truck throughout March and April and vessel loading is underway.

The units moving through the port will participate in Exercise Talisman Saber 2021 (TS21), the largest bilateral combined training activity between the Australian Defence Force and the U.S. military. The annual exercise is designed to test the respective forces’ planning and Joint Task Force operations.

Talisman Saber 2021 is the ninth iteration of the exercises between the two countries.