USNS ''Catawba'' is a operated by 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 ...
for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. It is currently based in
Manama
Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. It was launched in 1979 and is the last ship of its class still in service. In December 2020, the Navy announced its intention to retire ''Catawba'' during fiscal year 2023.
Construction and characteristics
The contract for the first four ''Powhatan''-class tugs was awarded to
Marinette Marine
Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group.
History
M ...
on 12 September 1975. ''Catawba'' was the third of these vessels to be launched. The contract price for the four ships was $30.5 million.
''Catawba's'' keel was laid down on 14 December 1977 at Marinette's shipyard. She was launched on 22 September 1979, and christened by Mrs. James R. Derusha, wife of the president of Marinette Marine. The ship was delivered to the Navy on 28 May 1980.
''Catawba's'' hull is built of welded steel plates. The ship is long, with a beam of , and a draft of . She displaces 2,260 tons fully loaded.
''Catawba'' has two
controllable-pitch Kort-nozzle propellers for propulsion. She has two 20-cylinder Diesel engines,
GM EMD
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its su ...
20-645F7B,
which provide 4,500
shaft horsepower. These can drive the ship at 15 knots. She also has a 300-horsepower
bow thruster
Manoeuvering thruster (bow thruster or stern thruster) is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow th ...
to improve maneuverability.
Electrical power aboard the ship is provided by three 400 Kw generators. These are powered by four
Detroit Diesel
Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) is an American diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck North America, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the mulitinational Da ...
8v-71 engines.
![VERTREP with USNS Catawba](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/VERTREP_with_USNS_Catawba.jpg)
The ship is expected to have global range in order to support the U.S. fleet across oceans. Her tankage is consequently large. She can carry of Diesel oil, of lube oil, and of drinking water.
Like all MSC ships, ''Catawba'' is crewed by civilian mariners. Her complement includes 16 civilian crew. There is also a 4-person military detachment of communications specialists aboard. The ship can accommodate an additional 16 people aboard for transient, mission-specific roles.
''Catawba's'' aft deck is largely open and accommodates a number of different roles. One of the original missions of a fleet tug was to tow damaged warships back to port. The ship's aft deck is equipped with a SMATCO 66 DTS-200 towing winch for service as a towboat.
She has a 10-ton capacity crane for moving loads on her aft deck.
There are connections to bolt down shipping containers. The deck space has been used to receive supplies from helicopter vertical replenishment operations. Unmanned underwater vehicles have been launched and recovered from ''Catawba's'' deck.
All the ships of the ''Powhatan''-class are named after Native American tribes. ''Catawba's'' namesake tribe was the
Catawba people, a leading tribe of the Carolinas. She is the fifth U.S. Navy ship to bear this name.
Ship history
![USNS Catawba recovering F-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/USNS_Catawba_recovering_F-18.png)
In 1983, the ship participated in a joint exercise with the Korean military in "Team Spirit '83".
''Catawba'' towed ex-
''Grayback'' from
Subic Bay,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
where she was sunk in an exercise in August 1986.
In April 1993, ''Catawba'' moored in
Mombasa, Kenya
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
. She took aboard a containerized version of the Navy's Cable-controlled Underwater Vehicle (
CURV
CURV-III was the fourth generation of the United States Navy Cable-controlled Undersea Recovery Vehicle (CURV). CURV was a prototype for remotely operated underwater vehicles and a pioneer for teleoperation. It became famous in 1966 when CURV- ...
), a deep diving salvage and recovery vehicle. ''Catawba'' and CURV formed the hub of a salvage effort to recover a
Marine Corps CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter that crashed off the coast of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. The effort was successful, and the helicopter reached the surface on 1 May 1993.
In 1994 the ship participated in the recovery of an
F/A 18-C that crashed into Persian Gulf.
In August 2000, ''Catawba'' assisted Bahraini authorities in recovering wreckage and bodies from the crash of
Gulf Air Flight 072
Gulf Air Flight 072 (GF072/GFA072) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Cairo International Airport in Egypt to Bahrain International Airport in Bahrain, operated by Gulf Air. On 23 August 2000 at 19:30Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3 ...
.
In October 2000, the ship towed the bomb-damaged
USS ''Cole'' away from
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
to the heavy-lift ship that would carry her back to the United States.
USNS ''Catawba'' was deployed to the Northern Persian Gulf during the second Gulf War (Feb-Mar 2003). Her divers provided critical assistance in recovering the bodies of aircrew from two
849 Naval Air Squadron Sea King ASaC.7 helicopters which had collided on 22 March 2003 off the
Al-Faw Peninsula, while operating from
HMS ''Ark Royal''.
In May 2008, ''Catawba'' participated in the "Goalkeeper III" fleet exercise in the Persian Gulf.
In 2009, ''Catawba'' provided
MV ''Faina'' with food, water, and medical supplies after that ship was released by Somali pirates.
She participated in the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise in the Persian Gulf in 2013.
''Catawba'' served as a salvage base to recover an
F/A-18 Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more adv ...
that crashed in the Persian Gulf in July 2015.
The ship participated in "Artemis Trident '19" a multi-national fleet exercise in the Persian Gulf in 2019.
Awards and honors
''Catawba'' and her crew have earned a number of honors and awards during her service.
These include:
*
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
*
Navy Expeditionary Medal: For service in the Indian Ocean/Iran 1981,1991
*
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
: 1983
*
Navy "E" Ribbon: 1981-1982
*
Southwest Asia Service Medal
The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...
: 1991
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catawba
Ships of the United States Navy
Tugboats
Ships built in Marinette, Wisconsin
1979 ships