[4] Built as Saint Magnus at Bremer Vulkan, Bremen, Germany in 1984, Virginian spent her first years in the commercial shipping service.

[5][6] Ironically, the ship that would later be known for carrying military supplies to the Middle East was accidentally hit by an Exocet missile while off-loading commercial cargo in Iraq in 1986.

[5] Some of its jobs during this time included delivering equipment and supplies to Africa as part of Operation Restore Hope, transporting a bio-safety lab from Inchon, Korea, to Jakarta, Indonesia, and ferrying harbor tugs used by the U.S. Navy from Diego Garcia to Guam and back.

[7] Under the contract, the Strong Virginian was to be used in the prepositioning of United States Army cargo in the Indian Ocean at the island of Diego Garcia.

[9] The ship was contracted to carry containers laden with ammunition to support the global war on terrorism and the United States Central Command.

[9] This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities and the Military Sealift Command websites, with more than 200 proposals solicited and three offers received.