USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29)

USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29) was an oceanographic survey vessel laid down on 24 May 1967, at Upper Clyde Shipbuilding Corp., Glasgow, Scotland. Launched on 13 May 1968, delivered to the US Navy, 13 November 1970 and placed in service with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29).[1][2] The ship's namesake is William Chauvenet (1820-1870).[3] He was instrumental in the founding of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. The mathematics department of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis was founded by Chauvenet and is housed in Chauvenet Hall.

The U.S. Military Sealift Command surveying ship USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29) underway in the Sulu Sea.
History
United States
Name:	USNS Chauvenet
Builder:	Upper Clyde Shipbuilding Corp., Glasgow, Scotland
Laid down:	24 May 1967
Launched:	13 May 1968
Acquired:	13 November 1970
Identification:	IMO number: 7738474 MMSI number: 367130000 Callsign: KVWA
Fate:	Converted to DOD Missile Defense Agency's Missile Instrumentation Ship MV Pacific Collector
General characteristics
Class and type:	Chauvenet-class hydrographic survey ship
Displacement:	3,035 long tons (3,084 t) light
Length:	392 ft 11 in (119.76 m)
Beam:	50 ft (15 m)
Draft:	16.7 ft (5.1 m)
Armament:	None

USNS Chauvenet, designed and built to conduct hydrographic and oceanographic studies and operated by a civilian crew, served with MSC under the technical direction of the Oceanographer of the Navy. In addition to the MSC crew, who operated and maintained the ship, there was a complement of civilian technicians and scientists aboard who were part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Survey operations fell under the direction of the United States Navy's (USN) Oceanographic Survey Unit 4 (OCUNIT4). United States Navy units aboard consisted of a helicopter detachment, a detachment of Seabees as well as several other Navy departments supporting survey missions.

Chauvenet was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1996, and title transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Converted to a training ship for Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX., in 1999 and renamed MV TS Texas Clipper II. Released from training work and towed to a shipyard on 18 March 2006, for reactivation and conversion as the DOD Missile Defense Agency's Missile Instrumentation Ship MV Pacific Collector. The Pacific Collector is currently home ported in Portland Oregon.