The ''San Clemente''-class oil tanker is a class of

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined c ...

s built by

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk and Mayport. It is a division of General Dynamics. The San Diego shipyard specializes ...

(NASSCO),

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. The size places them in the category of super

tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...

. They were built to serve the

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...

. At the time of completion National Steel and Shipbuilding Company was equally owned by Kaiser Industries Corporation and Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc. NASSCO also built the San Diego-class tankers at 180,000-dwt, Catalina-class tankers at 150,000- dwt and the Coronado-class tankers at 38,300-dwt. NASSCO also built for the US Navy ''Yellowstone''-class destroyer tender (AD-41 class) at 19,800-ton each. Two ships were converted by NASSCO to T-AH-19

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

s. The two hospital ships were delivered to the

US 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 ...

in 1986 and 1987 as Naval Auxiliary Fleet ships. The two provided for the Navy deployable acute medical care facility. Each has 1,000-bed medical care unit. They are used for armed forces and mercy missions to damaged locations, like after a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

Design

Each ship is 894 feet long, with a beam of 105 feet and depths-draft of 64 feet. This is the maximum size, known as

Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...

, that can pass through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a Channel ( ...

. All the ships in the class have a

double hull A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dist ...

bottom for safety. They came with anti-collision

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding e ...

plant and high-capacity clean

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

systems.

Owners

*Aeron Marine Shipping Co. *Third Group, Inc. *Maritime Overseas Corp. (now

Overseas Shipholding Group Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG - Overseas Shipping Group) () is the operator of a fleet of twenty-four oil tankers and oil tug-barges. It is based in Tampa, Florida, United States, and was founded in 1948. In 1969, under the leadership o ...

) *Chestnut Shipping Co. *United States Navy

Ships in class

*SS ''Beaver State'', renamed ''Liberty Belle'' in 1988, scrapped 1995 *SS ''American Heritage'', Scrapped 1994 *SS ''Golden Dolphin'', launched on January 19, 1974, Explosion/sunk off Azores, 1982 *SS ''Golden Endeavor'', launched 1976, Scrapped 1995 *SS ''Aframax'' *SS ''Overseas New York'', Scrapped 2004 *SS ''Overseas Chicago'', Scrapped 2004 *SS ''Overseas Ohio'', renamed S/R ''Hinchinbrook'' in 2000, scrapped 2004 *SS ''Overseas Washington'', Scrapped 2006 *SS ''Overseas Arctic'' Open Jury SS Overseas Arctic
/ref> *SS ''Chestnut Hill'', launched June 22, 1976. *SS ''Kittaning'', launched February 20, 1977.

Converted to hospital ships

* built as ''SS Worth'' in 1974, converted in 1984. * built as SS ''Rose City'', laid down in May 1975 converted in 1986.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Clemente-class oil tanker Ships built in San Diego Oil tankers