SS ''Pacific Tracker'' is a

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an Government agency#United States, agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the United States Maritime ...

(MARAD)

missile range instrumentation ship A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for ...

that monitors tests conducted by the

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a component of the Federal government of the United States, United States government's United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense responsible for developing a comprehensive Missile defense, defe ...

. It was formerly a crane ship named SS ''Beaver State'' (T-ACS-10) was named for the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, which is also known as the ''Beaver State''. As of 30 September, 2023, ''Pacific Tracker'' was listed 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 ...

, Pacific division assigned to Portland, OR.

History

''Beaver State'' was laid down on 13 April 1964, as the break-bulk freighter, SS ''Mormacdraco'', ON 299008, IMO 6507921, 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 (C4-S-60a) hull, under MARAD contract (MA 144). Built by

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and, as of 2023, is the largest private em ...

Inc., Pascagoula, MS, hull no. 487, she was launched on 14 January 1965 and delivered to MARAD 28 May 1965, for service with Moore-McCormack Lines. In 1976 the ship was lengthened and converted to a partial

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 ...

by Todd Ship Yard, Galveston, TX. She was sold to

United States Lines United States Lines was an organization of the United States Shipping Board's (USSB) Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC), created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all finances of t ...

in 1983 and renamed SS ''American Draco'', 13 September. US Lines ceased operations in 1986 and the ship was turned over to the MARAD on 2 April 1987 and placed in the

(NDRF). The ship was selected for conversion to a MARAD type (C6-S-MA60b) crane ship, but conversion was canceled, 12 January 1990. Conversion resumed in 1992, but was not completed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, CA until 4 May 1997, when she was placed in service as SS ''Beaver State'' (T-ACS-10) and assigned to the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), under operation control of the

Military Sealift Command The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

(MSC). ''Beaver State'' was berthed at Bremerton, WA. and assigned to Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three and was maintained in a five-day readiness status. She was removed from MSC control and withdrawn from the RRF by reassignment to the NDRF on 28 July 2006. She was converted for the

at Cascade General Shipyards, Portland, Oregon. to an

X-Band The X band is the designation for a band of frequency, frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0� ...

Transportable Radar Ship, designated (XTR-1) and renamed SS ''Pacific Tracker'', 1 April 2009.

References

External links

*
MARAD ship history page

SS Pacific Tracker: Proof Old Ships Are Worth Something

Tote Services vessel manager for Pacific Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacific Tracker Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1965 ships Keystone State-class crane ships