(Reuters) – The U.S. Army Vessel General Frank S. Besson has departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement early on Sunday.

Besson, a logistics support vessel, departed “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” the statement added.

It is “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.”