An Auxiliary Crane Ship is a vessel of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Military Sealift Command designed to operate where port facilities are limited or damaged to transfer cargo between themselves, other vessels, and piers.
Description
Auxiliary crane ships are converted commercial
container ship
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...
s, equipped with
pedestal cranes capable of lifting containers and other cargo. These are used to unload cargo from their own holds as well from other vessels at port facilities which do not have their own cargo handling capability.
These ships give the Military Sealift Command the ability to deliver cargo to locations that would otherwise be inaccessible or difficult to deliver cargo to in a timely manner. This increases the Command's capabilities in responding to needs worldwide, both in locations which are underdeveloped as well as those that have suffered destruction from conflict or
natural disasters.
The ships retain the ability to carry more than 300 standard containers.
Service
The first crane ship was completed as such in 1984, and a total of 10 vessels were converted through 1997. All were former commercial vessels. Builders which participated in the program were
Defoe Shipbuilding Company
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is ...
in
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metrop ...
,
Dillingham Ship Repair in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
,
Norshipco in
Norfolk, Virginia,
Tampa Shipyard in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, and
Keith Ship Repair in
.
Within the Military Sealift Command, the ships serve as part of the
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 ...
. Five crane ships were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1990 and 1991, while a single example served as a temporary Army prepositioning ship in 1994. Four crane ships were transferred to 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 ...
on 28 July 2006.
Ships in class
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SS ''Keystone State'' (T-ACS-1) (Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force)
*
SS ''Gem State'' (T-ACS-2) (Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force)
*
SS ''Grand Canyon State'' (T-ACS-3) (Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force)
*
SS ''Gopher State'' (T-ACS-4) (Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force)
*
SS ''Flickertail State'' (T-ACS-5) (Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force)
*
SS ''Cornhusker State'' (T-ACS-6) (Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force)
*
SS ''Diamond State'' (T-ACS-7) (National Defense Reserve Fleet)
*
SS ''Equality State'' (T-ACS-8) (National Defense Reserve Fleet)
*
SS ''Green Mountain State'' (T-ACS-9) (National Defense Reserve Fleet)
*
SS ''Beaver State'' (T-ACS-10) (National Defense Reserve Fleet)
See also
*
List of Military Sealift Command ships
This is a list of Military Sealift Command ships. The fleet includes about 130 ships in eight programs: Fleet Oiler (PM1), Special Mission (PM2), Strategic Sealift (PM3), Tow, Salvage, Tender, and Hospital Ship (PM4), Sealift (PM5), Combat Logisti ...
*
List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy
This is a list of auxiliaries of the United States Navy. It covers the various types of ships that support the frontline combat vessels of the United States Navy.
Ship status is indicated as either currently active (including ready reserve), ...
References
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{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries
Container ships
Ship types