USNS Mary Sears (T-AGS-65)

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Career (USA)

Namesake:	Mary Sears
Owner:	United States Navy
Operator:	Military Sealift Command
Awarded:	21 December 1998
Builder:	Halter Marine
Laid down:	28 July 1999
Launched:	19 October 2000
In service:	17 December 2001
Status:	Active in service as of 2008
General characteristics
Class and type:	Pathfinder-class survey ship
Displacement:	5,000 long tons
Length:	329 ft (100 m)
Beam:	58 ft (18 m)
Draft:	19 ft (5.8 m)
Speed:	16 kn (30 km/h)
Complement:	26 mariners/27 sponsor personnel

USNS Mary Sears (T-AGS 65) is a Pathfinder class oceanographic survey ship. It is the sixth and final ship of its class. Mary Sears is named after Commander Mary Sears of the USNR, who was instrumental in the development of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is regarded as one of the initial oceanographers in the Navy.

The ship has sonar, underwater metal detection and satellite imagery capabilities. ^[1] ^[2]

In mid January 2007, the Mary Sears deployed to Sulawesi, Indonesia to aid in the search for the missing Adam Air Flight 574 ^[1] On January 24, 2007, it was reported by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta that Mary Sears reported detecting pinger signals, at a depth of 1,700 metres (5,600 ft)^[3] on the same frequency as those of the lost aircraft's cockpit voice recorder, located in the area where the aircraft is believed to have gone down. Additionally, the Mary Sears had also detected "heavy debris scattered over a wide area".^[4]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Indonesia steps up search for missing plane - Swissinfo
^ http://www.leadingthecharge.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=41721&source=2 Crashed jetliner found in Indonesia Obtained 11 January 2007
^ Associated Press (January 26, 2007). Jakarta plans to retrieve recorder. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
^ Associated Press (January 25, 2007). U.S. picks up signal of missing jet. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.

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.