Merchant Marine Academy flagship Kings Pointer, ex-Contender, 1999. |
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Career (US) | |
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Name: | USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) |
Operator: | USNS |
Ordered: | September 26, 1980 |
Builder: | Tacoma Boatbuilding, Tacoma, Washington |
Laid down: | January 10, 1983 |
Launched: | December 20, 1983 |
Acquired: | June 9, 1984 |
Fate: | Disposed of by title transfer to MARAD on October 1, 1992 |
Career (US) | |
Name: | T/V Kings Pointer |
Owner: | United States Maritime Administration |
Operator: | United States Merchant Marine Academy |
In service: | 1992-Present |
Homeport: | Kings Point, New York |
Status: | Active United States Merchant Marine Academy |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Training Ship |
Displacement: | 2,250 tons |
Length: | 224 ft (68 m) |
Beam: | 43 ft (13 m) |
Draft: | 16.0 ft (4.9 m) |
Propulsion: | Diesel Electric Drive, twin shafts, inboard turning. |
Speed: | 11 kt cruise |
Crew: | 36 |
USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) was a Stalwart class Modified Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship of the United States Navy.
Stalwart class ships were originally designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold war anti-submarine warfare operations in the 1980s. ex-Contender is now T/V Kings Pointer the flagship and training vessel of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. [1]
In the spring of 2004 she underwent a major overhaul to upgrade her crew's quarters and training equipment. The aft 'tow' deck was also modified and any vestage of her previous employment as a SURTASS ship was removed and reworked.
Her current mission is ongoing, to supplement the classroom training at the United States Merchant Marine Academy by providing an operational shipboard platform for use by the academic departments and the Department of Shipboard Training. The training program is one that will foster leadership, responsibility and accountability through the operation and maintenance of the vessel.
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