MV Cape Horn (T-AKR-5068)

MV Cape Horn on 2 October 1993
History
United States
Name	Cape Horn
Namesake	Cape Horn
Owner	United States Department of Transportation United States Maritime Administration
Builder	Tangen Verft, Kragro, Norway
Launched	31 January 1979
Completed	1979
Acquired	December 1986
Commissioned	December 1986
Renamed	from Barber Tonsberg
Identification	IMO number: 7704942 MMSI number: 303944000 Callsign: KMJS Pennant number: T-AKR-5068
Status	Laid in San Francisco, in ROS-5 status
General characteristics
Class and type	Cape H-class roll-on/roll-off
Tonnage	39,889 GT
Displacement	51,007 long tons
Length	749 feet
Beam	105 feet inches
Draft	35 feet
Propulsion	Diesel, single propeller
Speed	17.4 knots
Range	Not Disclosed
Complement	27 civilian mariners
Armament	none
Armor	none
Aircraft carried	none

MV Cape Horn (T-AKR-5068) was originally built as a commercial ship in 1979 and sold to the Wilhelmsen Line with the name Barber Tonsberg. She has two sister ships: MV Cape Hudson and MV Cape Henry.

Construction and career

It was a Norwegian-built, B&W, 9-cylinder, approximately 29000 SHP, low-speed direct drive, Swedish-operated merchant RO/RO ship until it was purchased by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, in December 1986. Operated under contract by Marine Transport Lines of Weehawken.

On 15 April 1987, the ship was moored in Pusan for shipment back to the United States after the joint United States/South Korean Exercise TEAM SPIRIT '87.

In Aug 1990, the ship left San Francisco, Calif. transiting the Panama Canal enroute to Beaumont(Port Arthur), Texas to load a military cargo to be delivered to a Persian Gulf port in Saudi Arabia as part of Desert Shield. After delivering the first cargo, she proceed back stateside to Charlestown, South Carolina to load a partial military cargo and then proceed to Bayonne, New Jersey to complete the military cargo loading. After delivering the second cargo to Saudi Arabia, she proceed to Antwerp, Belgium in December 1990 to load a military cargo from West Germany. After delivering the third cargo, she proceed back stateside stopping at Port Said to await the Suez Canal Transit. On 17 Jan 1991 after the start of Desert Storm, she received a special order to proceed ASAP through the Suez Canal and headed to Jacksonville, Florida for special military cargo. After loading the special cargo. she proceed back to the Gulf and arrived after 28 Feb 1991 when the war ended. After a 2 week delay, she delivered part of her special cargo to Kuwait. She then proceeded back to Jacksonville, Florida.

MV Cape Horn was docked at a port facility in the Persian Gulf region on 19 October 1994. Army stevedores from the 567th Transportation Unit, Ft. Eustis, Virginia, were flown to the region to download the equipment from the ships in preparation for Operation Vigilant Warrior.

On 18 April 2005, she housed the military tactical vehicles for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, 12th Marines, and Combat Logistics Regiment 7 for exercise Cobra Gold.

From there it was later transferred to the Maritime Administrations Ready reserve fleet and assigned to San Francisco.

Gallery

• 
  MV Cape Horn and M113 in South Korea on 15 April 1987.
• 
  MV Cape Horn and M939 in Saudi Arabia on 8 November 1990.
• 
  MV Cape Horn in Kuwait on 19 October 1994.
• 
  MV Cape Horn and M870 in Thailand on 18 April 2005.
• 
  MV Cape Horn and M870 in Thailand on 18 April 2005.

Further reading

• (https://web.archive.org/web/20120616101627/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=36) Military Sealift Command Ship Inventory
• (http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/54/545068.htm) NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
•  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.