USNS Contender

Last updated
General Rudder - June 2019.jpg
T/S General Rudder on approach to Texas A&M Maritime Academy, 2019
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSNS Contender (T-AGOS-2)
Operator USNS
OrderedSeptember 26, 1980
Builder Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, Tacoma, Washington
Laid downJanuary 10, 1983
LaunchedDecember 20, 1983
Sponsored byMrs. Sarah Sumner Rowden
AcquiredJune 9, 1984
StrickenDecember 11, 1992
FateDisposed of by title transfer to MARAD on October 1, 1992
StatusConverted into training vessel T/S Kings Pointer for the US Merchant Marine Academy
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Name T/V Kings Pointer
OwnerUnited States Maritime Administration
Operator United States Merchant Marine Academy
Acquired1992
In service1992-2012
Homeport Kings Point, New York
FateTransferred to Texas A&M Maritime Academy
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Name T/V General Rudder
OwnerUnited States Maritime Administration
Operator Texas A&M University at Galveston
Acquired2012
In service2012-2019
Homeport Galveston, Texas
Identification
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and typeTraining Vessel
Tonnage1,914 GT;574 NT
Displacement2,285 tons (at design draft)
Length224 ft (68 m)
Beam43 ft (13 m)
Height71 ft (22 m)
Draft16.0 ft (4.9 m)
Ice classABS Class C0
Installed power4x Caterpillar D398TA Generators; 2x General Electric Motors; 1600 hp
Speed12 knots
Capacity228,615 gallons diesel (98% capacity)
Crew64

USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) was a Stalwart-class Modified Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship of the United States Navy. Now known as the T/S General Rudder, the ship serves as the primary training vessel of Texas A&M Maritime Academy. Texas A&M has operated the vessel since 2012.

Contents

History

Stalwart-class ships were originally designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold War antisubmarine warfare operations in the 1980s. These vessels were designed to create minimal noise while operating. The addition of cavitation-free propellers at speeds under three knots, the absence of reduction gears in the propulsion system, sound isolation of diesel generators, and vibration dampening of all machinery helped in the Contender's mission as an acoustical data sounder. In 1992, the ex-Contender became the T/V Kings Pointer, the flagship and training vessel of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. [1] [2]

In 1999, Kings Pointer was the first vessel to reach the site of the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. [3] In the spring of 2004, she underwent a major overhaul to upgrade her crew's quarters and training equipment. The aft 'tow' deck was also modified and any vestige of her previous employment as a SURTASS ship was removed and reworked.

She remained the flagship and training ship of the United States Merchant Marine Academy until January 2012. She was then transferred to Texas A&M University at Galveston and renamed the "TS General Rudder" (after General James Earl Rudder), where she remains today as the primary training vessel for cadets of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. In 2013, the vessel had another major overhaul, with the aft fantail's bulwark lowered, aft main deck leveled, and hull cleaned and repainted. The vessel was also fitted with additional berthing for 64 personnel. [3]

In 2019, the ship underwent another overhaul, with engine-room improvements, steel repair, rust removal, and the hull cleaned and repainted. This maintenance session came with eagerness, after months of technical and mechanical issues had plagued the vessel. For the first time since being transferred to Texas A&M Maritime Academy, the ship was given a maroon-and-white paint scheme, indicative of Texas A&M school colors. The new improvements have seen promising results for the aging training vessel, as she reached a maximum speed of 14 knots while in transit from her Mobile shipyard. In June 2019, the T/S General Rudder had another underway period before being transferred to the Beaumont Ready Reserve Fleet later that summer.

Incidents

In September 2018, the T/S General Rudder suffered a rudder failure while entering Port Arthur. The vessel was unable to lower anchor and purposely ran aground minutes later to avoid a collision with other ship traffic. With the help of the US Coast Guard and local tug boats, the General Rudder was towed to a local shipyard for repairs. Although the vessel's rudder stock had not previously shown signs of wear, it was apparent in the crew's inspection that the heat of the shifting rudder had forced the stock to seize in its casing, causing the unexpected rudder malfunction. The issue was corrected, and the vessel returned to Texas A&M Maritime Academy two weeks later.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Merchant Marine</span> U.S. civilian mariners

The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine primarily transports domestic and international cargo and passengers during peacetime, and operate and maintain deep-sea merchant ships, tugboats, towboats, ferries, dredges, excursion vessels, charter boats and other waterborne craft on the oceans, the Great Lakes, rivers, canals, harbors, and other waterways. In times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Merchant Marine Academy</span> U.S. service academy

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen to serve as officers in the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the United States Armed Forces and the transportation industry. Midshipmen are trained in different fields such as marine engineering, navigation, ship's administration, maritime law, personnel management, international law, customs, and many other subjects important to the task of running a large ship.

Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) is an ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students enrolled at Texas A&M University at Galveston, known affectionately as 'Sea Aggies', share the benefits of students attending Texas A&M University (TAMU) campus in College Station. TAMUG is located on Pelican Island, offering benefits for its maritime focused majors.

USS <i>K-7</i> K-class submarine of the United States

USS K-7 (SS-34) was a K-class submarine built for the United States Navy during the 1910s.

USS <i>Mullany</i> (DD-528) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Mullany (DD-528), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral James Robert Madison Mullany (1818–1887).

<i>Alexander von Humboldt</i> (ship)

Alexander von Humboldt is a German sailing ship originally built in 1906 by the German shipyard AG Weser at Bremen as the lightship Reserve Sonderburg. She was operated throughout the North and Baltic Seas until being retired in 1986. Subsequently, she was converted into a three masted barque by the German shipyard Motorwerke Bremerhaven and was re-launched in 1988 as Alexander von Humboldt. In 2011 the ship was taken off sail-training and sent to the Caribbean for the charter business, then she was converted to a botel.

USNS <i>Stalwart</i>

USNS Stalwart (T-AGOS-1) was a Modified Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship and the lead ship of her class.

SS <i>Tahoe</i> Steamship scuttled in Lake Tahoe

SS Tahoe was a steamship that operated on Lake Tahoe at the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Scuttled in 1940, the wreck presently lies in 400 feet (120 m) of water off Glenbrook, Nevada. The wreck was first visited in 2002 by a team from New Millennium Dive Expeditions (NMDE) in a record-setting high-altitude dive for Lake Tahoe. As a result of the work that NMDE did on the Tahoe site from 1999 up to their dives in 2002, Tahoe became the first maritime site in Nevada to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Maritime Academy</span> Public college in Traverse City, Michigan

The Great Lakes Maritime Academy at Northwestern Michigan College is located on West Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Michigan. The academy was established in 1969 as a Maritime college to train men and women to be licensed mariners on ships of unlimited tonnage or horsepower; including research vessels, cruise ships, freighters, tankers and more. One of six state-operated maritime academies in the United States, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy is the only maritime academy that offers graduates the opportunity to earn First Class Great Lakes Pilotage, and the only maritime academy located on fresh water. Students, called cadets, earn a Bachelor of Science degree and their Federal license to sail as an officer on both the Great Lakes and the oceans.

USNS <i>Mohawk</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

USNS Mohawk (T-ATF-170) was a United States Navy Powhatan-class tugboat operated by the Military Sealift Command from 1980 to 2005.

MV <i>Liberty Star</i> NASA ship

MV Liberty Star is a formerly NASA-owned and United Space Alliance-operated vessel which primarily served as an SRB recovery ship following the launch of Space Shuttle missions. It also performed tugboat duties and acted as a research platform. In 2012, it was transferred to the U.S. Department of Transportation for use as a training vessel at the United States Merchant Marine Academy as the TV Kings Pointer. Her sister ship is the MV Freedom Star.

MV <i>Freedom Star</i> American recovery ship

MVFreedom Star is a formerly NASA-owned and United Space Alliance-operated vessel which primarily served as an SRB recovery ship following the launch of Space Shuttle missions. It also performed tugboat duties and acted as a research platform.

USS <i>Allegheny</i> (ATA-179) Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Allegheny (ATA-179) was an American Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug launched in 1944 and serving until 1968. She underwent conversion to a research vessel in 1952.

The second USS Undaunted was laid down as rescue tug ATR-126 on 27 November 1943 at Port Arthur, Texas, by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works; reclassified auxiliary ocean tug ATA-199 on 15 May 1944; launched on 22 August 1944; and commissioned on 20 October 1944.

MS <i>Côte des Dunes</i>

MS Côte des Dunes is a Rodin-class ropax ferry operated by DFDS Seaways and currently in service between Dover and Calais.

TS <i>Kennedy</i> American training vessel

USTS Kennedy(T-AK-5059), callsign KVMU, IMO number 6621662, is a former commercial freighter and a current training vessel of the United States Maritime Service.

The BRP Dioscoro Papa (PC-381) is the eleventh ship of the Jose Andrada class coastal patrol boats of the Philippine Navy. It is part of the second batch of its class ordered through US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in 1993, and was commissioned with the Philippine Navy on 1 June 1995.

National Security Multi-Mission Vessel

The National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) ship designed as training vessels for maritime academies. The five vessels will also be equipped to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The US$630 million project was managed by TOTE Maritime, a U.S.-based shipping company with experience building U.S.-flagged vessels, with the with Philly Shipyard constructing the ships. The first ship was delivered to State University of New York Maritime College in September 2023.

Cockaponset was a steam cargo ship built in 1918–1919 by Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Company of Bay Point for the United States Shipping Board as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine. The vessel was largely employed on the Gulf Coast of the United States to Europe route until 1930 when she was laid up. In late 1940 the ship together with 15 other vessels was acquired by the British government to alleviate significant shortage of tonnage due to an ongoing German U-boat campaign. In May 1941 the freighter was torpedoed and sunk on her first war trip to the United Kingdom.

USCGC <i>Planetree</i>

USCGC Planetree (WAGL/WLB-307) was a Mesquite-class seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as in a variety of domestic missions.

References

  1. "Sail Baltimore '05". 2005. Archived from the original on 2012-04-13.
  2. "MV Kingspointer". USMMA. 30 Jul 2003. Archived from the original on 2013-02-22.
  3. 1 2 "Training Ship GENERAL RUDDER". TAMUG. Retrieved 2015-06-17.