USNS ''Upshur'' (T-AP-198), was a Barrett Class

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

named in honor of Major General William P. Upshur,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

.Naval Historical Center: ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'', Upshur, http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/u1/upshur-i.htm, n.d., accessed 6 Jan 2014. The hull of the USNS ''Upshur'' was laid down on September 1, 1949 by the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

as the SS ''President Hayes''. Designed in 1947 as a

passenger-cargo ship A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

for the

American President Lines APL, formerly called American President Lines Ltd., is an American container shipping company that is a subsidiary of French shipping company CMA CGM. It operates an all-container ship fleet, including 9 U.S. flagged container vessels. In 1938, ...

' post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

replacement program,US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration: ''National Register Eligibility Assessment, Vessel: TS State of Maine, ex-USNS Upshur (T-AP-198)'', http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/State_of_Maine_NHPA_History.pdf Date: 29 September 2009. before she was completed in her civilian configuration, she was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy at the outbreak of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and converted for troop and dependent

. Reassigned to the US Navy and renamed

USNS United States Naval Ship (USNS) is the prefix designation given to non- commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy (USN). Definition United States Naval Ships are unarmed auxiliary support vessels owned by the U.S. Navy ...

''Upshur'', she served the

Military Sea Transportation Service 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 ...

from 1952 to 1973. Over her years of service she performed many routine missions, carrying military members and their families safely across the seas in an era when air travel was uncommon, as well as special missions, such as the emergency evacuation of military families from

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military base ...

in 1962.Robert G. Brown, LT, CHC, USN: ''Guantanamo Bay Evacuation'', http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/2012/USNS-Upshur-Evacuation-Account.pdf, n.d., accessed 6 Jan 2014. In 1973 USNS ''Upshur'' was placed out of service and transferred to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD), and provided to the

Maine Maritime Academy Maine Maritime Academy (Maine Maritime or MMA) is a public college focused on maritime training and located in Castine, Maine. The academy was established by the 90th Maine Legislature on March 21, 1941. Unlike federal service academies, a congr ...

for use as a merchant marine training ship. Renamed TV ''State of Maine'', she served from 1973 to 1995 in service of the academy, with temporary assignments to the

Massachusetts Maritime Academy Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Mass Maritime) is a public university in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, focused on maritime-related fields. It was established in 1891 and is the second oldest state maritime academy in the United States. Originally ...

. In 1995 ex-USNS ''Upshur'' was transferred to the

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, multi ...

and relocated to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

as a platform for testing maritime

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

technology by the U.S. Coast Guard Fire & Safety Test Detachment in Mobile. In 2005,

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

broke the ex-USNS ''Upshur'' free of her moorings and settled her 500 feet across the

Mobile River The Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georg ...

on the bank of a coal terminal. In 2008 she suffered further damage when

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

hit the area, and the vessel bottomed out and sat at a ten‐degree list. According to Google Earth, the vessel was removed from Little Sand Island between May 2010 and July 2011. USNS ''Upshur'' is associated with noted naval architect

George G. Sharp George G. Sharp, Inc. is a marine design and naval architecture firm established in 1920 in New York City by George Gillies Sharp, former Chief Surveyor of the American Bureau of Shipping. The firm started with the design of excursion steamboats on ...

and participated in several notable events in U.S. history, but, based on her current condition,

MARAD Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum, Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in modern-day Iraq and roug ...

has determined that she is not eligible for listing on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. ''Upshur'' was scrapped at

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

in 2011.

Sources

External links

NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive, USNS Upshur (T-AP-198)

* ttp://www.174ahc.org/upshur01.htm Photos of USNS ''Upshur'' from the 174th Assault Helicopter Company webpage {{DEFAULTSORT:Upshur (T-AP-198) 1951 ships Ocean liners Steamships of the United States Passenger ships of the United States Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation