Bulletin 10 - Logistics update

Content

UNJLC Pakistan Earthquake
BULLETIN No. 10 (Day 23)
As of 1800 hours local, Monday, October 31st, 2005

UNJLC Bulletins aim to provide a clear and concise regular overview of the situation as it exists in the earthquake-affected area of Pakistan and contiguous areas with regards to logistics matters affecting relief work by the humanitarian community. They focus on practical issues that affect the welfare of the afflicted populace and related humanitarian work such as the status of transport routes for humanitarian supplies and personnel into the area, relevant administrative or commercial developments, air (including strategic airlift and helicopter operations), Customs and immigration matters, and availability of accommodation and fuels. They further seek to identify major issues for the humanitarian community and other interested parties, to provide relevant background and constructive recommendations on current issues, and to alert responsible parties to emerging issues. This bulletin has been produced daily since October 17th but as the emergency enters its third week will be produced on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with effect from October October 24th, until further notice.

Summary and Highlights

• The WFP-chaired Logistics Cluster Group continues to meet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30am sharp, at the WFP Afghanistan Liaison Offices premises, adjacent to UNJLC in Islamabad. Attendance is highly encouraged for agencies or NGO’s who wish to avail themselves of interagency support facilities.
• Abbottabad is being established as the main interagency logistics base for both air and ground operations, feeding hubs further north and east. UNJLC staff will be deploying to Abbottabad this week, augmenting the three locations already served.
• The nominal cargo carrying capacity of the combined Pakistani and international rotary wing fleet deployed to the emergency is estimated at 376.5 tonnes. A further 205 tonnes of carrying capacity may be added in the coming weeks, with about half of that dependent on donor funding.

1.    Activation and Deployment

As the emergency enters its fourth week, UNJLC has a total of 22 staff deployed, excluding contract drivers and embedded Pakistani military and civilian liaison officers and volunteers. This comprises eighteen international and four national staff. Five staff are now deployed to the field, conducting co-ordination activities in Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Mansehra and satellite locations.

Additionally, DFID has seconded four planners from the UK Ministry of Defence to assist in formulating a comprehensive and coherent interagency logistics strategy to address the emergency in a sustainable manner through the winter. With the first serious snowfalls expected before the end of November and the weather already turning cool, the situation is critical.

The airport team operating at Chaklala Air Force Base to co-ordinate incoming cargo may be reduced as strategic airlift assumes a more regular rhythm and as sealift and local procurement comes into play.

2.    Logistics Co-ordination

Abbottabad, a large town with good road connections (and with a railhead terminating 26 km south of the town), several hours drive on good roads from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, is being established as the main UN interagency logistical supply base. Permission has been received to use part of the grounds of the Army Medical College and the adjacent helipad for the large Mi-26 helicopters. A substantial fleet of UN and ICRC helicopters, including several UNHAS Mi-26’s, may be based at Abbottabad throughout the winter.
Despite limited space available, WFP is erecting temporary warehouses in the area for transit storage of both food and non-food items. The site will be operational later in the week and open to all agencies.

UNJLC is deploying a Field Logistics Officer to Abbottabad this week to assist in co-ordination on the ground. Operations at Abbottabad are expected to relieve much of the pressure at Islamabad International Airport and Chaklala, particularly for helicopter operations.

With several exceptions, the response from agencies to appeals from both WFP - the Chair of the Logistics Cluster - and UNJLC for comprehensive information on their logistics needs has been poor but is improving. This information is vital in order to define the logistics capacity necessary, and the associated investment.

The need for effective transportation from the logistical hubs of Muzaffarabad, Mansehra, Batagram, Balakot and Bagh out to the final delivery points where beneficiaries are located is becoming increasingly pressing. Major NGO’s have expressed frustration that storage and transport facilities arranged with respective UN agencies have been unavailable. This generally involves all-wheel-drive 6-tonne trucks and is causing a build-up of relief supplies in the hubs whilst outlying areas remain unserved. In effect, the hubs are emerging as bottlenecks. Alternative transport such as mules or manpacks may have to be considered if this “last mile” transport is not made available.

Donor participation at the Logistics Cluster meetings – with several notable exceptions - remains poor. Lack of unding has emerged as a major constraint on the logistics operation.

3.    Field Co-ordination

UNJLC has inaugurated a Logistics Cluster Co-ordination meeting in Mansehra, grouping one international organisation and three key NGO’s. The next meeting will be at 4:00pm November 2nd at the IMC offices in Mansehra. It is intended that these meetings will be held about twice a week.

Trucking rates have risen throughout the affected area and agencies need contact details of transporters outside of the area in order not increase supply and provide more flexibility and options. UNJLC is compiling and will shortly publish a “Yellow Pages” and welcomes referrals from agencies of transporters they have used and are satisfied with. Contact Pakistan@unjlc.org

A US military engineering unit in Muzaffarabad will, capacity permitting, be able to assist agencies with engineering assets such as bulldozers and dump trucks. Tasking is done by the Pakistani Army but agencies can request assistance through the US liaison officer in Mansehra on 0300 856-0263.

Agencies can request assistance from Pakistani military air assets in Mansehra and satellite areas through Major Nasir, 0300 217-2336. See below for an outline of Pakistan military air assets operating from Mansehra.

4.    Rotary Wing Aircraft: Overview

Helicopters deployed and incoming, with numbers of aircraft and nominal cargo-carrying capacity, is as follows. The figures are as firm as UNJLC has been able to ascertain and are generally less than those published in the media.

UNHAS is presently tasking about 17% all helicopters deployed to the operation, representing about 22% of the cargo capacity. UNJLC will be prioritising cargo for about 45% of all further helicopters known to be incoming and 68% of incoming capacity, if donor funding allows deployment of these aircraft. The UNHAS fleet presently comprises chartered Mi-8’s and Mi-26’s, three UK Royal Air Force CH-47 Chinooks for a period of up to 28 days (between 75 and 125 hours each), and four NATO CH-53 German Sea Stallions that will operational by mid-November. At least two (but seldom more than three) of the UNHAS Mi-8’s are devoted to passenger operations but these often also carry cargo.

At present, the US military is providing 30% of deployed aircraft with 41% of the capacity, and accounts for 34% of incoming aircraft and 25% of incoming capacity. However, a number of the incoming aircraft, particularly CH-47 Chinooks, will replace those presently deployed rather than adding to the overall fleet.

The Pakistani military provides about 38% of the aircraft and 27% of the capacity, with no more incoming aircraft. The remainder 15% of the fleet, with barely 10% of the lifting capacity, is from international organisations and NGO’s with very few from other militaries. Three incoming MSF Ka-32’s were suspended because of the fatal crash of one of these on the way to Pakistan, and Afghan Mi-17’s have now been withdrawn.

In the early stages of the operation, relief goods were being flown to areas that could be reached overland. This was in part justified by the immediacy of getting relief supplies to affected people, and the needed to evacuate by air seriously injured casualties to hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. However, with field hospitals and field medical teams now deployed, helicopters will be increasingly used only for reaching areas inaccessible by truck. The Pakistani military is still using helicopters to transport goods from Islamabad to points that could be covered by ground transport.

The nominal cargo capacity shown below represents the situation if every helicopter flew one sortie, loaded only with cargo. In reality, given the missions, most operational helicopters can conduct several sorties a day (some up to seven). On the other hand, at least a third of the helicopters may not be operational on a given day because of maintenance and crew rest requirements or adverse weather conditions.

Note 1: UNHAS, ICRC, Oxfam and US Government. Four of the five incoming Mi-8 aircraft for UNHAS and three incoming ICRC aircraft are yet to be confirmed. Three of the four additional UNHAS Mi-26’s are dependent on donor funding.
Note 2: The Pakistani military operates 4 Bell 412’s, 2 to 3 UH-2’s and 5  Mi-17’s from the Mansehra forward base. Agencies in the field may request access to these assets by contacting the local Pakistani Army Liaison Officer as above.

BULLETIN ENDS