The SS ''Cape Mohican'' (T-AKR-5065) is a steam turbine powered heavy-lift SEABEE barge carrier, one of two ships of her type in the

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

Ready Reserve Force The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

. ''Cape Mohican'' was activated for service during

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, and has performed various transportation duties over the years. She was berthed at

Port of Oakland The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...

, California as part of the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

(NDRF). Regular maintenance and sea trials kept her ready to activate on five days' notice. The ''Cape Mohican'' was the source of a 1996

spill A spill occurs when the contents of something, usually in liquid form, are emptied out onto a surface, person or clothes, often unintentionally. Spill may also refer to: *Oil spill *Chemical spill *Data spill *Leadership spill *Spill (audio), whe ...

of 40,000 gallons of

heavy fuel oil Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) is a category of fuel oils of a tar-like consistency. Also known as bunker fuel, or residual fuel oil, HFO is the result or remnant from the distillation and cracking process of petroleum. For this reason, HFO is contaminate ...

in San Francisco Bay causing $3.625 million in natural resources damages. On July 9, 2021, the ''Cape Mohican'' was towed by a seagoing

tug boat 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, suc ...

out of San Francisco Bay, on its way via the Panama Canal to Texas, where it will be broken down and recycled.

Construction and commissioning

She was originally built as the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

type (

C8-S-82a Type C8-class ships are a type of Heavy Lift Barge Carrier. Type C8 ships were the 8th type of ship designed by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in the late 1960s. As done with the Type C1 ships and Type C2 ships, MARCOM circulated ...

) hull SS ''Tillie Lykes'', ON 536672, IMO 7223314, under MARAD contract (MA hull 243), for commercial use with the

Lykes Brothers Steamship Company Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., also called Lykes Lines, was a cargo shipping company acting from the beginning of the 20th century to 2005 having its main business in the trade to and from the United States. History In 1898 the sons of Dr. Howell Tys ...

. She was laid down on 15 July 1971 at the

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

Shipyard in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, hull no. 20. She was launched on 23 September 1972, and delivered for service on 16 March 1973. The ship was turned over to MARAD on 20 March 1986, and assigned to MSC's RRF as SS ''Cape Mohican'' (T-AKR-5065). The ''Cape Mohican'' is one of three ships in the Cape M-class, the other two of which are also named for capes in the United States whose names begin with the letter "M". It is one of several ships in the history of the U.S. Navy to be named SS ''Cape Mohican''

Oil spill

On October 28, 1996, while the ''Cape Mohican'' was in a

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

just south of the present location of

Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...

, a worker opened a valve on the ship thinking he was releasing water. Instead of water, fuel oil was released by the valve, and 40,000 gallons of it spilled into

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

. Although the spill was modest even in the local history of the Bay (it was the largest to take place there between 1988 and 2007), it still polluted 120 miles of shoreline and killed at least hundreds of birds. In 1998, the

and San Francisco Dry Dock Inc. paid a court settlement of $8 million, which was split roughly evenly between a fund for environmental restoration and reimbursement to agencies involved in the cleanup.

Grounding

On May 21, 2001, the ''Cape Mohican'' was participating in an exercise at Chilpo Beach, just north of

Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. While in the harbor, heavy winds caused her to drag anchor approximately 150 feet and run aground on rocks, causing damage to her hull and internal tanks. This damage required salvage work and emergency dry-docking along with 1500 tons of steel to make her seaworthy again American Society of Naval Engineers, 2004

References

*
Factsheet on the website of the MSCMaritime Administration Record Detail: ''Mohican''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Mohican (T-Akr-5065) Type C8 ships Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1972 ships Cape M-class heavy lift ships Auxiliary ships of the United States

Construction and commissioning

Oil spill

Grounding

See also

References