USNS Stalwart |
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| Career (MSC) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Stalwart |
| Ordered: | 26 September 1980 |
| Builder: | Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, Tacoma, Washington |
| Laid down: | 3 November 1982 |
| Launched: | 11 July 1983 |
| Acquired: | 14 May 2004 |
| In service: | 12 April 1984 |
| Out of service: | 15 November 2002 |
| Struck: | 2 December 2002 |
| Fate: | Donated to State University of New York Maritime College |
| Career (SUNY) | |
| Name: | SUNY Maritime |
| Operator: | State University of New York Maritime College |
| Reclassified: | Training vessel |
| Homeport: | Fort Schuyler, NY |
| Status: | Inactive, awaiting repairs |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Stalwart-class ocean surveillance ship |
| Displacement: | 1,565 tons (light) 2,535 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 224 ft (68 m) |
| Beam: | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 x Caterpillar diesel-electric engines, two shafts, 1,600 hp |
| Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h) |
| Complement: | 17 CIVMAR, 15 MILDET |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (later removed) AN/SPS-49 air search radar (installed later) Link 11 system (installed later) Identification friend or foe with AUTO-ID |
| Notes: | Statistics during military service |
USNS Stalwart (T-AGOS-1) was a Modified Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship and the lead ship of the her class.
Stalwart was laid down on 3 November 1982 by the Tacoma Boat Building Company. She was launched on 11 July 1983, and entered service with the United States Military Sealift Command on 12 April 1984. The ship served as an anti-submarine surveillance ship during the Cold War, then as an anti-drug smuggling vessel as part of the United States' War on Drugs.
Stalwart left military service on 15 November 2002, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 December 2002. She was donated to the State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY-Maritime), and was renamed SUNY Maritime. As of 2008[update], the ship sits alongside the college's pier, but as funding promised by the government to repair and refit SUNY Maritime as a training vessel has not been provided, the ship has fallen into a state of disrepair.
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Stalwart was laid down on 3 November 1982 by the Tacoma Boat Building Company, in Tacoma, Washington. She was launched on 11 July 1983, and entered service with the United States Military Sealift Command on 12 April 1984.
Stalwart and her sister ships were designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold War anti-submarine warfare operations in the 1980s. The main equipment used for this role was the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), a collection of acoustic sensors that process and transmit data by satellite to shore bases for in-depth analysis. SURTASS is a neutrally buoyant, 8,575-foot (2,614 m) array deployed on a 6,000 feet (1,800 m) tow cable, capable of operating between 500 and 1,500 feet (150 and 460 m) in depth.
Stalwart spent the first part of her career on patrol for Soviet Navy submarines.
In 1993, Stalwart and two sister ships, USNS Indomitable and USNS Capable, were converted to serve in the War on Drugs under Joint Interagency Task Force - East. The SURTASS sensors were replaced by an AN/SPS-49 long range air search radar and Link 11 system, to aid in location of drug smugglers.
Stalwart left military service on 15 November 2002, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 December 2002.[1]
After she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register, STALWART, was placed under the control of the U.S. Maritime Administration, who then donated her to SUNY-Maritime for potential use in small vessel operations, watch standing and training. The vessel has also been used in recent years by various federal, state and local groups for practical training in firefighting, search and rescue, and port security.
Today, SUNY MARITIME, remains docked at the college's pier. Initial thoughts of upgrading the vessel to an operational training vessel, or to use the vessel solely as a mobile security asset were not practical for the college, despite some efforts in procuring funding for these purposes. Instead the vessel has been used to a limited extent in her current condition and by various external groups, all with the college’s support. Although initially on her transfer to the Maritime College, some work was done on main engines and ship’s systems, there has been no recent attempt at restoring the vessel. The college is currently pursuing options of disposing of the vessel, for either scrap value or other purposes. (Statement from the Commandant of Cadets at SUNY Maritime College and Captain of the TS Empire State)
On February 3rd, 2011, the USNS Stalwart left the SUNY Maritime pier by tugboat to be brought to Norfolk Shipyards to be restored at an estimated $14 million. It was purchased by an unknown buyer. The buyer is believed to be Stabbert Maritime.
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