MV Cape Horn (T-AKR-5068)
Coordinates: 37°46′23″N 122°22′53″W / 37.7730888°N 122.3814327°W
MV Cape Horn (T-AKR-5068) was originally built as a commercial ship in 1979 and sold to the Wilhelmsen Line with the name Barber Tonsberg. She has 2 sister ships named MV Cape Hudson and MV Cape Henry.
MV Cape Horn on 2 October 1993 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Cape Horn |
| Namesake | Cape Horn |
| Owner | Wilhelmsen Line |
| Builder | Tangen Verft, Kragro, Norway |
| Launched | 31 January 1979 |
| Completed | 1979 |
| Acquired | December 1986 |
| Commissioned | December 1986 |
| Renamed | from Barber Tonsberg |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Laid in San Francisco, in ROS-5 status |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Cape H-class roll-on/roll-off |
| Displacement | 51,007 long tons |
| Length | 749 feet |
| Beam | 105 feet inches |
| Draft | 35 feet |
| Propulsion | Diesel, single propeller |
| Speed | 17.4 knots |
| Range | Not Disclosed |
| Complement | 27 civilian mariners |
| Armament | none |
| Armor | none |
| Aircraft carried | none |
Construction and career
It was a Norwegian built, B&W, 9-cylinder, approx.29000 SHP, low speed direct drive, Swedish operated merchant RO/Ro ship until it was purchased by the US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, in December 1986. Operated under contract by Marine Transport Lines of Weehawken.
On 15 April 1987, the ship was moored in Pusan for shipment back to the United States at the conclusion of the joint US/South Korean Exercise TEAM SPIRIT '87.[1]
In Aug 1990, the ship left San Francisco, Calif. transiting the Panama Canal enroute to Beaumont(Port Arthur), Texas to load a military cargo to be delievered to a Persian Gulf port in Saudi Arabia as part of Desert Shield.. After delivering the first cargo, she proceed back stateside to Charlestown, South Carolina to load a partial military cargo and then proceed to Bayonne, New Jersey to complete the military cargo loading. After delivering the second cargo to Saudi Arabia, she proceed to Antwerp, Belgium in December 1990 to load a military cargo from West Germany. After delivering the third cargo, she proceed back stateside stopping at Port Said to await the Suez Canal Transit. On 17 Jan 1991 after the start of Desert Storm, she received special order to proceed ASAP through the Suez Canal and headed to Jacksonville, Florida for a special military cargo. After loading the special cargo. she proceed back to the Gulf and arrived after 28 Feb 1991 when the war ended. After a 2 week delay, she delivered part of her special cargo to Kuwait. She then proceeded back to Jacksonville, Florida.
MV Cape Horn was docked at a port facility in the Persian Gulf region on 19 October 1994. Army stevedores from the 567th Transportation Unit, Ft. Eustis, Virginia, were flown to the region to download the equipment from the ships in preparation for Operation Vigilant Warrior.[2]
On 18 April 2005, she housed the military tactical vehicles for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, 12th Marines, and Combat Logistics Regiment 7 for exercise Cobra Gold.[3]
From there it was later transferred to the Maritime Administrations Ready reserve fleet and assigned to San Francisco.
Gallery
MV Cape Horn and M113 in South Korea on 15 April 1987.
MV Cape Horn and M939 in Saudi Arabia on 8 November 1990.
MV Cape Horn in Kuwait on 19 October 1994.
MV Cape Horn and M870 in Thailand on 18 April 2005.
MV Cape Horn and M870 in Thailand on 18 April 2005.
Further reading
- () Military Sealift Command Ship Inventory
- (http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/54/545068.htm) NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
References
- ^ An M113 armored personnel carrier is driven into the hold of the Ready Reserve Force ship SS CAPE HORN (T-AKR 5068) for shipment back to the United States at the conclusion of the joint US/South Korean Exercise TEAM SPIRIT '87, 15 April 1987, retrieved 15 April 2021
- ^ Navy, National Museum of the U. S. (14 August 2015), 330-CFD-DF-ST-98-04386: Operation Vigilant Warrior, October 8-December 22, 1994. A US Army stevedore directs a tractor trailer down the ramp of the Ready Reserve Force ship Cape Horn (T-AKR-5068) at a port facility in the Persian Gulf region on 19 Oct 1994. Army stevedores from the 567th Transportation Unit, Ft. Eustis, Va. were flown to the region to download the equipment from the ships in preparation for Operation Vigilant Warrior, the U.S. Armed Forces response to aggressive Iraqi actions towards Kuwait, October 19, 1994. . Conrad M. Evans, II (OPA-NARA II-8/14/2015)., retrieved 15 April 2021
- ^ Rojas, U. S. Navy photo by USMC Lance Cpl Christopher T. (18 April 2005), English: Chuc Samet, Thailand (April 18, 2005) - A logistical vehicle system debarks off of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) Ready Reserve Force roll-on/roll-off ship MV Cape Horn (T-AKR 5068), which housed the military tactical vehicles for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, 12th Marines, and Combat Logistics Regiment 7 for exercise Cobra Gold. Cobra Gold is an annual field training exercise with joint services from the U.S. Marines, Navy, Air Force, Thai Army and Thai Royal Marines. U.S. Navy photo by USMC Lance Cpl. Christopher T. Rojas (RELEASED), retrieved 15 April 2021