SS ''Flickertail State'' (T-ACS-5) is a

crane ship A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. Conventional monohulls are used, but the largest crane vessels are often catam ...

ready reserve The Ready Reserve is a U.S. Department of Defense program which maintains a pool of trained service members that may be recalled to active duty should the need arise. It is composed of service members that are contracted to serve in the Ready Rese ...

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 ...

. She is stationed at

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

and is in ready reserve under 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 ...

(MSC). The ship was named for the state of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, which is also known as the ''Flickertail State''.

History

''Flickertail State'' was laid down on 14 February 1967, as the

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 intermodal ...

CV ''Lightning'', ON 518063, IMO 6817845, a

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 (C5-S-73b) hull under MARAD contract (MA 206). Built by

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

, Bath, Maine, hull no. 355, she was launched on 11 May 1968, and delivered to MARAD 21 February 1969, entering service for

American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

. She was sold to

Farrell Lines Farrell Lines Incorporated was a boat company named in 1948 after James A. Farrell, Jr., and John J. Farrell, sons of James Augustine Farrell, president of US Steel. The company was previously known as American South African Lines (ASAL). It was a ...

in 1978 without name change. The ship was returned to MARAD in 1986 and laid up in 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). In 1987-1988 she was converted to a type (C5-S-MA73c) Crane Ship by Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock, Norfolk, Virginia. Completed on 8 February 1988, she was placed in service as SS ''Flickertail State'' (T-ACS-5) and assigned to 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 ...

(RRF), under operation control of the Military Sealift Command (MSC). ''Flickertail State'' was assigned to Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three and was maintained in a four-day readiness status. ''Flickertail State'' has been in ready reserve at Newport News, Virginia since 1993.

Large vessel lift on/lift off

In 2009, a demonstrator crane was installed and integrated aboard the SS Flickertail State to evaluate the crane's performance in transporting containers between two moving ships in an operational environment using commercial and oil industry at-sea mooring techniques, at sea in the Gulf of Mexico. Developed by the Sea Warfare and Weapons Department in the

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

along with

Oceaneering International Oceaneering International, Inc. is a subsea engineering and applied technology company based in Houston, Texas, U.S. that provides engineered services and hardware to customers who operate in marine, space, and other environments. Oceaneering's ...

, the LVI Lo/Lo crane has sensors and cameras as well as motion-sensing algorithms that let it automatically shift with the rolling and pitching of the sea, making it much easier for operators to center the crane over cargo and transfer it.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *

Online

United States Navy Fact File - Crane Ships

External links

Military Sealift Command page on ''Flickertail State''
*

* ttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/tacs-specs.htm Global Security.org - T-ACS Keystone State Auxiliary Crane Ships specifications
Navsource.org

National Defense Reserve Fleet Inventory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flickertail State (T-ACS-5) Ships built in Bath, Maine 1968 ships Gopher State-class crane ships Ships of American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines Type C5 ships