[1] Built in Japan in 1977 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Limited, the ship was delivered to Ro-Ro Charterers Corporation as MV SEASPEED ARABIA.

Later renamed SAUDI RIYADH, she was purchased by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) in August 1993 and was subsequently converted for military use at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point Shipyard at Baltimore, Maryland.

Renamed MV CAPE RISE (T-AKR 9678), she was assigned to the MARAD's Ready Reserve Force (RRF) on November 21, 1994.

Since then, she is maintained in reduced operating status (ROS) in a layberth at Portsmouth, Virginia with a maintenance crew of nine (9) commercial mariners.

To date, the RRF has experienced hundreds of vessel activations, with dozens per year supporting a variety of humanitarian, natural disaster, and military operations.