Sturgis

Built during WWII as the Liberty Ship SS Charles W. Cugle, this vessel was purchased by the US Army in 1965 and underwent conversion to house an experimental Nuclear Reactor as part of a feasibility study on the potential usefullness of mobile, floating nuclear power plants.

The ship was renamed Sturgis and had the experimental MH-1A Nuclear reactor installed into its hull in 1966, which became operational in 1967. The ship was towed to Fort Belvoir where it's reactor was tested and showed it was able to continually and safely produce up to 45 Megawatts of power. Following its testing period, the ship was towed from Fort Belvoir to the Panama Canal, where it was stationed inside the US-controlled Canal Zone and provided power to the Canal Locks and operating systems from 1968 to 1976.

Budget cutbacks in the US Army, the high price of maintaining the vessel and an upcoming nuclear refueling led the US Army to remove the Sturgis from the Panama Canal and shut down the MH-1A reactor in 1976. The ship was brought to the Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis where she was stripped of her Nuclear Fuel and sealed off to prevent any potential contamination to the surrounding areas. She is presently maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is slated for disposal, most likely through the US Navy's Nuclear Ship & Submarine Recycling Program (NSSRP) at Bremerton, WA.

www.hq.usace.army.mil/CEPA/PUBS/apr01/story8.htm
www.pmars.imsg.com/detail.asp?Ship=5489