 American Tern (T-AK-4729) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Ordered | 1987 |
| Builder | VEB Schiffswerft Neptun, Rostock, Germany [1] |
| Laid down | 1988 |
| Launched | 16 December 1989 |
| Acquired | 1991 |
| In service | 1991 |
| Out of service | 2010 |
| Homeport | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Identification | |
| Nickname(s) | The Tern |
| Fate | Scrapped in 2010 |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Type | Container ship |
| Tonnage | 13,382 gt 17,175 dwt |
| Displacement | 8,650 long tons (8,789 t) |
| Length | 521 ft (159 m) |
| Beam | 76 ft (23 m) |
| Draft | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Capacity | 594 TEU |
| Complement | 21 contract mariners |
MV American Tern (T-AK-4729) was a container ship managed by APL Maritime. Formerly the Liberian-flagged Kariba, the vessel was renamed American Tern under the United States flag in 2002. Since 2002, the American Tern was chartered by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command until 2010. She was contracted through 2010 to make resupply voyages to McMurdo Station in Antarctica (Operation Deep Freeze) and Pituffik Space Base in Greenland (Operation Pacer Goose). [1] The vessel was named after the tern, a type of bird that makes annual migrations from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
American Tern unloading containers at McMurdo Station
American Tern being led into McMurdo Station, Antarctica, by the Russian icebreaker Krasin during Operation Deepfreeze, 2006
American Tern and Russian icebreakers
