USNS ''Sirius'' (T-AFS 8) was a ''Sirius''-class combat stores ship of 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 ...

, named for

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...

, the brightest

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

visible from Earth other than the Sun. ''Sirius'' was built by

Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three pow ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. Laid down in 1965, she was launched in 1966 from

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...

as RFA ''Lyness'' with the pennant A339 serving in the British

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

. On 15 November 1980, the ship was acquired by charter by the United States Military Sealift Command. She was transferred to the U.S. Navy's

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 ...

in 1981. ''Sirius'' was deactivated and struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

in 2005 and given to the U.S. Department of Transportation's

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 ...

(MARAD), then assigned to Texas Maritime Academy under an agreement that it can be activated by MARAD at any time. During the fall of 2005, the ''Sirius'' served in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

for Katrina relief, from 10 September until 29 November and at Lake Charles, LA for

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as R ...

relief until 2 March. Because of its extended relief effort the ''Sirius'' was unable to undergo a refit in 2006 to adapt its new role as a training vessel and comply with U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. Because the ''Sirius'' had not undergone a refit, it could not be formally commissioned as the USTS ''Texas Clipper III'' nor could it be used for summer training cruises. In the winter of 2009 the US Coast Guard ruled that the ''Sirius'' was unfit for training and was prepared for decommissioning while the school looked for a new training ship. On 25 June 2009, the ''Sirius'' was returned to the U.S. Maritime Administration. ''Sirius'' was scrapped at Brownsville on 30 May 2014.

Honors and awards

The USNS ''Sirius'' is authorized the following awards:"U.S. Navy Awards Website"
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References

* * * Ships built on the River Tyne 1966 ships Sirius-class combat stores ships Ness-class combat stores ships Ships built by Swan Hunter {{TAMU-stub