R/S ''RocketShip'',
formerly M/V ''Delta Mariner'', is a cargo ship operated by
Keystone Shipping Company
Keystone Shipping Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a major shipping and transportation company. Keystone Shipping Company operates a fleet of ships for both dry bulk cargo and tankers. Since World War I, the Keystone Shipping Company ha ...
for
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, ...
(ULA).
Her primary role is transporting components for the ULA
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Mart ...
,
Delta IV
Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, t ...
and
Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
rockets from the manufacturer, located in
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
, to launch facilities at
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
in Florida and
Vandenberg Space Force Base
Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from ...
in California.
The ship is designed for shallow inland waterways as well as the open ocean and is capable of carrying up to three Delta IV
Common Booster Core
The Common Booster Core (CBC) is an American rocket stage, which is used on the Delta IV rocket as part of a modular rocket system. Delta IV rockets flying in the retired Medium and Medium+ configurations each used a single Common Booster Core a ...
s.
Some cargos carried by ''RocketShip'' were formerly transported by an
Antonov An-124 Ruslan
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; russian: Антонов Ан-124 Руслан, , Ruslan; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrain ...
from the manufacturer to the launch site.
History
Use of ''Delta Mariner'' was transferred to ULA after the company was created in 2006 to handle all United States military launch services. ULA is a 50/50
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
created out of the rocket manufacturing and
launch service businesses of Boeing and
Lockheed Martin for their
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
and
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Mart ...
launch vehicles, respectively. For ULA, the ship has transported the Atlas V, Delta IV and
Delta II
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 ...
rockets under the ''Delta Mariner'' livery.
On September 27, 2019, United Launch Alliance re-christened the vessel ''RocketShip'' in a ceremony at its factory in Decatur.
Shipping routes
Completed rocket stages and other components are transported by truck approximately from the Decatur manufacturing facility to the dock on the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...
and driven directly onto the ship.
From Decatur, ''RocketShip'' takes the Tennessee and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Rivers downstream, south on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
, and into the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
, a trip of more than .
Once in the Gulf, ''RocketShip'' may travel around the Florida peninsula to
Cape Canaveral, a trip; or through the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
to
Vandenberg, a three-week journey which covers around .
Incidents
Grounding
On August 7, 2001, ''Delta Mariner'' ran aground on a
sandbar
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. ...
in the Tennessee River during its initial docking attempt at Decatur. This was ''Delta Mariner''s first arrival at the dock since its launch.
The vessel was freed by a
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
about an hour after the incident.
Bridge collision
On January 26, 2012, around 20:10
CST, ''Delta Mariner'' struck the
Eggner's Ferry Bridge, which crosses
Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. It was created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River via Kentucky Dam for flood control and hydroelectric ...
near
Murray
Murray may refer to:
Businesses
* Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles
* Murrays, an Australian bus company
* Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust
* D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...
and
Cadiz, Kentucky
Cadiz ( ) is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Trigg County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,558 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Clarksville metropolitan area.
Cadiz is a historic town located close to the Lan ...
. There were no injuries on the ship or bridge, and, while ''Delta Mariner'' was "not severely damaged" and the cargo of Atlas and Centaur stages was undamaged,
the collision destroyed a section of the bridge.
According to Foss Maritime's spokesman, this was on the regular route taken by the vessel.
U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
officials state the vessel was operating in a recreational
channel at the time of the collision, rather than the shipping channel which offers greater bridge clearance.
Foss representatives stated that the bridge's channel navigation lights were not operational, though
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Mike Hancock stated this should not have been a significant factor in the incident and KYTC spokesman Keith Todd said he believes most of the lights were functioning at the time.
The ship remained anchored at the bridge after the incident took place so that salvage plans could be developed and equipment moved into place. Salvage operations were led by T&T Bisso of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, with assistance from local and regional companies.
During February 4–5, salvage divers worked to remove debris which caught underwater on ''Delta Mariner''s hull.
On February 6, the vessel was freed from the underwater debris and the Coast Guard approved its relocation to a safe harbor one mile downriver so that its bow could be cleared.
By February 14, the bridge debris had been cleared and the vessel had relocated to the James Marine drydock in
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...
, to undergo repairs.
''Delta Mariner'' was cleared by the American Bureau of Shipping on February 17 to proceed on its journey, and it docked at
Port Canaveral
Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo, and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 4.5 million cruise passengers passing through during 2016. Over 5.4 million tonnes of bulk car ...
, Florida, on February 23.
In their investigation, the
National Transportation Safety Board concluded that "the bridge team's exclusive reliance on the contract pilot's incorrect navigational direction as the vessel approached the bridge and their failure to use all available navigation tools to verify the safety of the vessel's course" was the cause of the incident, noting that the bridge crew ignored two Coast Guard broadcasts and a radio call from the vessel ''Addi Bell'' regarding navigational lights being out at the bridge. The NTSB cited the KYTC's failure to maintain the bridge's navigational lighting as a contributing factor; white navigation lights had been out of service for over a year and additional navigation lights indicating the bridge's high point had shorted out in the days leading up to the incident.
Repairs to the bridge, led by Hall Contracting, cost more than according to the KYTC, and costs associated with repairs to ''Delta Mariner'' and removal of debris from its hull were estimated at .
The bridge reopened on May 25, 2012.
In 2017, Foss Maritime agreed to pay to the KYTC as settlement in the incident.
Gallery
File:Delta Mariner rear quarter view docked at Cape Canaveral (08PD-3496).jpg, ''Delta Mariner'' during offload of Ares I-X
Ares I-X was the first-stage prototype and design concept demonstrator of Ares I, a launch system for human spaceflight developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Ares I-X was successfully launched on October 28, ...
upper stage simulators
File:Delta Mariner at Meck Island orig (2009).jpg, ''Delta Mariner'' docked at Meck Island, 2009
File:Delta Mariner offloading Delta IV first stages (04PD-1666).jpg, Delta IV Common Booster Cores offloading from ''Delta Mariner'' at Cape Canaveral
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:RocketShip
1999 ships
Ships built in Moss Point, Mississippi
Ro-ro ships
Maritime vessels related to spaceflight
Merchant ships of the United States
Maritime incidents in 2012