Keystone State Crane Ships

 military, ship, crane (machine), auxiliary, historical layer / disappeared object, United States Navy

Built in the mid-1960's as MARAD Type C4-S-1 general cargo ships for American President Lines at the NASSCO Shipyard in San Diego, these three sisterships plied the commercial trades at a time when the age of breakbulk was giving way to containerization and as a result were quickly found to be unprofitable in their original configuration. Converted to containerships in the early 1970's in order to better compete in the shipping markets, the three ships were soon idled by their high cost of operation and were subsequently turned over to MARAD for lay-up by 1980.

Found to be ideal for the needs of the US Navy, all three sisterships were pulled out of the Reserve Fleet and converted into Crane Ships, enabling them to serve as mobile port facilities to assist with military operations in areas where suitable port infrastructure does not exist. Forming the Keystone State Class of Crane Ships, the three sisters were assigned to the US Military Sealift Command's Pacific Surge Force and are now maintained in a ROS-5 readiness status, meaning they can be ready to deploy in five days or less if activated. When activated, the ships report to Military Sealift Command Pacific as part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force.

These ships are the following:
SS Keystone State (T-ACS-1)
www.navsource.org/archives/09/76/7601.htm
www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_ACS_1_1316.HTM...
SS Gem State (T-ACS-2)
www.navsource.org/archives/09/76/7602.htm
www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_ACS_2_1317.HTM...
SS Grand Canyon State (T-ACS-3)
www.navsource.org/archives/09/76/7603.htm
www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_ACS_3_1318.HTM...