SS ''Gopher State'' (T-ACS-4) is a

crane ship A crane vessel, crane ship, crane barge, or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads, typically exceeding for modern ships. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. The cranes are fitted to c ...

ready reserve The Ready Reserve is a U.S. Department of Defense program which maintains a pool of trained service members that may be recalled to active duty should the need arise. It is composed of service members that are contracted to serve in the Ready Res ...

for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The ship was named for the state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, which is also known as the ''Gopher State''. ''Gopher State'' is currently moored at Newport News, VA.

History

''Gopher State'' was laid down on 26 July 1971, as the

container ship 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 intermodal ...

''Export Leader'', ON 545126, IMO 7226689, a

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 ...

type C5-S-73b hull under MARAD contract (MA 257). Built by

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, one of the world's largest ...

, Bath, Maine, hull no. 358, she was launched on 8 July 1972, and delivered to MARAD 22 January 1973, entering service 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 ...

(renamed American Export Lines in the same year). She was sold to

Farrell Lines Farrell Lines, Incorporated is a U.S.-based shipping company specializing in roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) cargo transportation. Founded in 1925 as the American South African Line by James A. Farrell Jr. and John J. Farrell, the company initially se ...

in 1978 without name change. The ship was returned to MARAD in 1986 and laid up in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

(NDRF). In 1987 she was converted to a type C5-S-MA73c crane ship by Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock, Norfolk, Virginia. Completed on 12 October 1987, she was placed in service as ''Gopher State'' (T-ACS-4) and assigned to the

Ready Reserve Force The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States, mostly merchant vessels, that have been mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies, or non-mil ...

(RRF), under operation control of the Military Sealift Command (MSC).Silverstone 2011 p. 237 ''Gopher State'' is in ready reserve, laid up at Newport News, Virginia. As of December 2016, she is in Drydock No. 3 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *

Online

*U.S. Navy

*U.S. Naval Register, []
United States Navy Fact File - Crane Ships

External links

* ttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/tacs-specs.htm Global Security.org - T-ACS ''Keystone State'' Auxiliary Crane Ships specifications*
National Defense Reserve Fleet Inventory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopher State 1972 ships Gopher State-class crane ships Ships of American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines Type C5 ships