MV Cape Ray Prepares for Syrian Chemical Weapons Destruction

The MV Cape Ray is a ship with a very important mission. It's been converted into a chemical weapons destruction vessel.

The ship is equipped with two Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems (FDHS) that can neutralize up to 600 tons of chemical warfare agents. These systems use a process called hydrolysis to break down the chemicals into harmless substances.

The MV Cape Ray is currently in the Mediterranean Sea, where it will be used to destroy chemical weapons from Syria. The ship's crew consists of 164 people, including Navy personnel and civilians with expertise in chemical and biological defense.

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The MV Cape Ray's mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons was a historic voyage. The ship was deployed from Portsmouth, Virginia to the Mediterranean Sea on Monday to join a United Nations mission.

The MV Cape Ray is a 648-foot container ship outfitted with two Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems designed to neutralize mustard gas and other chemicals.

The crew of the MV Cape Ray consisted of a mix of 35 civilian mariners, 64 chemical specialists from the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, a security team, and representatives from U.S. European Command.

The ship was expected to be underway for about two weeks before arriving at its destination, where destruction of dozens of containers of chemical weapons was expected to take about 90 days.

The MV Cape Ray was headed to the Italian Port of Gioia Tauro, where the chemicals would be transferred to the ship.