Page 38: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1988)

The U.S. Army has entered into a new era in marine transportation with the delivery of the General

Frank S. Besson (LSV-1), the first of four 273-foot Logistic Support

Vessels being built by Moss Point

Marine, Inc., Escatawpa, Miss., un- der a $40.7-million contract.

The ship is the first of a new class of landing craft with roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) capabilities which permit their use where there are no ports.

The RO/RO capability is made pos- sible by bow and stern ramps which enable off-loading of cargo to un- developed beaches and unloading from other vessels or wharves.

Speaking at the vessel's christen- ing, Maj. Gen Fred E. Elam, the

Army's chief of transportation, said the new ships will give the Army state-of-the-art capabilities by re- placing boats built 30 to 40 years ago and they will allow the Army to "... select where we are going to come in rather than letting the ene- my dictate it or the facility dictate it."

The General Besson (and sister ships to follow) is equipped with an on-board computer linking it with logistic data files at U.S. Army and

Navy stock points.

The all-steel landing ship is 273 feet in length with a 60-foot beam and 16-foot five-inch depth. Propul- sion is provided by two General Mo- tors EMD 16-1645-E2 diesel en- gines. It can transport between 900 and 2,000 short tons of cargo de- pending on the type of operation.

The LSV is capable of approxi- mately 12 knots sustained speed and has a range of over 5,500 nauti- cal miles at loaded displacement. It has a crew of six officers and 24 enlisted personnel.

The Army contract was awarded by the Navy's Military Sealift Com- mand and is being administered by the Navy's Supervisor of Shipbuild- ing, Conversion, and Repair (SUP-

SHIPS) in Pascagoula, Miss.

John Dane III, president of the

Trinity Marine Group which in- cludes Moss Point Marine, Inc., said the three sister ships will be deliv- ered at approximate 60-day inter- vals.

The Trinity Marine Group is owned by Trinity Industries, Inc.,

Dallas, Texas.

For free literature on the ship- building and ship-repairing facili- ties and capabilities of Trinity,

Circle 31 on Reader Service Card sponsor, broke a bottle of cham- pagne on the bow, is the wife of

Dennis R. Shaw, Deputy Under

Secretary of the U.S. Navy for poli- cy. The Shaw's daughter, Jaimie, served as flower girl.

U.S. Rep. Helen Delich Bent- ley, R-Md., who worked with Beth- lehem to obtain the $130-million, two-ship contract in 1985, was prin- cipal speaker at the christening. "Commander Matthew Fontaine

Maury, in the mid-1800s, was this country's pioneer oceanographer,"

Rep. Bentley said. "It is very fit- ting that this first-of-its-class, ultra- modern ship carry his name and chart the seas for a strong Navy."

Other principals at the christen- ing were Vice Adm. Walter T.

Piotti Jr., Commander, Military

Sealift Command; Rear Adm. John

R. Seesholtz, USN, Oceanogra- pher of the Navy, who dedicated the keel for the Maury on July 29, 1986, and Joseph N. Shrader, Deputy

Commander, Naval Sea Systems

Command.

Also attending were Capt. Rich- ard E. Westbrook, Supervisor of

Shipbuilding, Conversion and Re- pair, USN, Portsmouth, Va., and

Capt. William C. Pfister, pro- gram manager, Auxiliary/Special

Mission, Ship Acquisition Program,

Naval Sea Systems Command.

Principals at the christening were (L to R): Joseph N. Shrader, Deputy Commander, Naval

Sea Systems Command; Rear Adm. John R. Seesholtz, USN, Oceanographer of the Navy;

Mistie Shaw, ship's sponsor; Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley, principal speaker; Vice

Adm. Walter T. Piotti Jr., Commander, Military Sealift Command; and David Watson, gener- al manager, Sparrows Point shipyard.

Bethlehem Steel Christens

Navy Oceanographic Survey Ship

At Sparrows Point Shipyard

Also Dedicates New Drydock

The USNS Maury, a sleek ocean- ographic survey ship nearing com- pletion at Bethlehem Steel Corpora- tion's Sparrows Point shipyard, was christened recently by Mrs. Dennis

R. Shaw of Alexandria, Va.

Mrs. Shaw, who, as the ship's r RAT P€HC*NG JJ TH I ICABLE $AVERI

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Circle 309 on Reader Service Card Circle 313 on Reader Service Card

The new Army Logistic Support Vessel General Frank S. Besson, built by Moss Point Marine of Escatawpa, Miss., is powered by two EMD diesel engines.

Moss Point Marine Delivers

First Of Four Army Landing Ships 40 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News