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Military Sealift Command successfully completed cargo operations at Port Hueneme, California, for Operation Deep Freeze 2026, loading 305 cargo pieces, including a 65-ton Modular Causeway System, onto the Dutch-flagged ship Plantijngracht. The vessel will make a stop in Christchurch, New Zealand, before traveling approximately 8,040 nautical miles to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, where Navy Cargo Handling Battalion ONE will offload the cargo. The use of a foreign-flagged vessel has drawn criticism, despite the contract being awarded after a competitive procurement process.