The ''Gopher State''-class crane ships 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 ...

are a class of auxiliary vessels. The lead ship of the class is named in honor of the state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. Original

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. De ...

(MARAD) designation for the ship is C5-S-73b.

History

All three vessels of the class were former ''Sea Witch''-class

container ships 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 intermoda ...

built at the

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 ...

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 ...

. AEIL was acquired by

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 ...

in 1978 and the ships were later returned to the

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 issu ...

(MARAD) at an unknown date. They were converted for naval service as crane ships in 1986–1987. All three ships are in MARAD

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 ...

status in

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 U ...

Ships in class

* SS ''Gopher State'' (T-ACS-4) was converted from the ''Export Leader'', Bath Hull No. 358, IMO 7226689 * SS ''Flickertail State'' (T-ACS-5) was converted from the ''CV Lightning'', Bath Hull No. 355, IMO 6817845 * SS ''Cornhusker State'' (T-ACS-6) was converted from the ''CV Stag Hound'', Bath Hull No. 356, IMO 6916433

External links

Shipbuilding History page with information on Bath Iron Works hulls

{{MARCOMships Gopher State class crane ship Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy Gopher State class crane ship Auxiliary transport ship classes Type C5 ships