Pathfinder-class survey ship

USNS Sumner (T-AGS-61) in Hawaii, July, 2003
History
Owner: United States Navy
Operator: Military Sealift Command
Builder: Halter Marine
General characteristics
Class and type: Pathfinder-class survey ship
Displacement: 4,762 long tons
Length: 329 ft (100 m)
Beam: 58 ft (18 m)
Draft: 19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric; 4 EMD/Baylor diesel generators; 11, 425 horsepower (8.52 MW); 2 GE CDF 1944 motors; 8,000 horsepower (5.96 MW) sustained; 6,000 horsepower (4.48 MW); 2 Lips Z drives; bow thruster, 1,500 horsepower (1.19 MW).
Speed: 16.0 knots
Complement: 26 Civilian Personal/27 military sponsor personnel

The Pathfinder class survey ships are owned by the United States Navy and operated by Military Sealift Command for the Naval Oceanographic Office ("NAVOCEANO"). They have mostly civilian crews, including scientists from NAVOCEANO.[1][2]

The Pathfinder-class survey ships have three multipurpose cranes and five winches plus a variety of oceanographic equipment including multibeam echo-sounders, towed sonars and expendable sensors. These ships are capable of carrying 34-foot hydrographic survey launches (HSL) for data collection in coastal regions with depths between 10 and 600 meters and in deep water to 4,000 meters. A small diesel is used for propulsion at towing speeds of up to 6 knots. HSLs carry SIMRAD high-frequency active hull-mounted and side scan sonars. T-AGS 66, the most recent addition to the survey ship fleet, is equipped with an 18 foot by 18 foot moon pool for deploying and retrieving a variety of mission systems, including Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV).[3]

The original contract for the Pathfinder-class of surveying ships was awarded in January 1991 for two ships with an option for a third, which was taken up May 29, 1992. A fourth ship was ordered in October 1994 with an option for two more. A fifth ship was ordered Jan. 15, 1997. Construction began on the sixth ship in the class in 1999. By early 2002, six ships had been delivered and were performing active missions for MSC. The contract for a seventh ship, T-AGS 66, USNS Maury, was awarded in December 2009. In August 2014, T-AGS 61, USNS Sumner, was deactivated, and USNS Maury was delivered on Feb. 16, 2016, restoring the survey fleet to six ships.[4]

Ships

There are seven ships in the Pathfinder class:[1][5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ship Inventory - Oceanographic Survey Ships". Military Sealift Command. U.S. Navy. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  2. ↑ Missy Ryan, Dan Lamothe (17 December 2016). "Pentagon: Chinese naval ship seized an unmanned U.S. underwater vehicle in South China Sea". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4500&tid=700&ct=4 | Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. ↑ http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4500&tid=700&ct=4 | Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Oceanographic Survey Ships - T-AGS". U.S. Navy. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2016.


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