Algol-class vehicle cargo ship

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American Bureau of Shipping

USNS Regulus

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The Algol - class ( and Fast Sealift Ships) is a class of eight steam turbine driven cargo ships of the Military Sealift Command. Originally the ships were built as container ships of the SL -7 class for the shipping company Sea-Land Corporation. Sea-Land took the ships 1972/73 in operation and sold all eight ships 1981/1982 after a short Aufliegezeit to the U.S. Navy. Container ships of the type SL -7 were the world's largest container ships in their construction and are still the fastest ever built cargo ships.

History

The SL -7 ships were in the years 1972/73 to the shipyards AG Weser in Bremen, Rotterdamsche Dry Dock Maatschappij in Rotterdam and the Rhine steel Nordseewerken in Emden made ​​. According to its interpretation to a speed of 33 knots, they were ten to fifteen knots faster than all other ships and shortened the transatlantic container traffic thus at a stroke by several days. So in the first year of operation, some still valid speed records for cargo ships have been established. Most notable in this regard was an Atlantic crossing of the Sea-Land Exchange in August 1973., You hereby reached an average speed of 34.92 knots, which was 0.97 knots under the 1952 record speed of the United States. Even the still valid today speed record for cargo ships on the Pacific holds an SL -7 ship, the Sea-Land Commerce. Then rose the fuel prices in the wake of the oil crisis, which made the operation of the full load consuming up to about 614 tons per day ships uneconomical. In subsequent years, the rate was therefore greatly reduced until the ship octet was 1981/82 eventually sold to the U.S. Navy. For their own purposes as a fast Ro-Ro car carriers (T- AKR class supply ships almost ) the ships were rebuilt again and are still part of the U.S. Navy ( see, for example: Altair (T- AKR 291) ).

In order to raise the necessary capital of about 427 million U.S. dollars for the construction of costly SL -7 class, the Sea-Land founder Malcolm McLean had in 1969 a large part of its shares in the shipping company to the RJ Reynolds Group to sell. A few years later he withdrew completely from the shipping company Sea-Land back, not without passing a short time later, another container shipping company.

Technology

During the construction of the ships of the SL -7 class for the transport of 896 35 -foot containers, a former standard measure of Sea-Land, and another 400 TEUs were designed, making it difficult to competitors understand the calculation Sea- Lands. However, Sea-Land waved shortly also to the operation of 20 - and 40 -foot containers to.

The ships

There were built eight ships for Sea-Land Corporation.

• September 27, 1972, AG Weser, hull number 1382, Sea-Land Galloway. The ship was used by Kobe. From 1982: AKR 294 USNS Antares
• October 4, 1972, Rotterdamsche Dry Dock Maatschappij, hull number 330, Sea-Land McLean. The ship was used on the route Port Elizabeth Bremerhaven. From 1982: AKR 293 USNS Capella
• March 30, 1973, AG Weser, hull number 1383, Sea-Land Commerce. The ship was used on the route Kobe San Francisco. From 1982: AKR 292 USNS Regulus
• April 6, 1973, Rhine - North Sea steel works, hull number 430, Sea-Land Trade. The ship was used on the route Los Angeles -Yokohama. From 1982: AKR 288 USNS Bellatrix
• May 7, 1973, Rotterdamsche Dry Dock Maatschappij, hull number 331, Sea-Land Exchange. The ship was used on the route Hong Kong - San Francisco. From 1982: AKR 287 USNS Algol
• September 17, 1973, Rhine - North Sea steel works, hull number 431, Sea-Land Finance. The ship was used on the route Hong Kong - San Francisco. From 1982: AKR 291 USNS Altair
• September 20, 1973, AG Weser, hull number 1384, Sea-Land Market. The ship was used on the route Rotterdam Port Elizabeth. From 1982: AKR 290 USNS Pollux
• December 4, 1973, Rotterdamsche Dry Dock Maatschappij, hull number 332, Sea-Land Resource. The ship was used on the route Los Angeles -Yokohama. From 1982: AKR 289 USNS Denebola