USNS Comet

The former USNS Comet (T-AKR-7) is a vehicle landing ship originally built for the US Navy. The lone ship of its class, it was built at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania and was delivered in January 1958. The Comet is considered to be the first purpose-built oceangoing “Roll On/Roll Off” vessel. The Comet operated as part of the common user fleet of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), later Military Sealift Command (MSC). It was a notable participant in the U.S. response to the Lebanon Crisis in 1958.

Additional Information:
MARAD USNS Comet Page
HAER Survey CA348

SS Petersburg (T-AOT-9101)

Originally built in 1963, Petersburg was one in a fleet of five tankers fitted with an offshore petroleum discharge system.

An Offshore Petroleum Distribution System (OPDS) provides a semipermanent, all-weather facility for bulk transfer of petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) directly from an offshore tanker to a beach termination unit (BTU) located immediately inland from the high-water mark. POL then is either transported inland or stored in the beach support area.

Major OPDS components are: the OPDS tanker with booster pumps and spread mooring winches, a recoverable single-anchor leg mooring (SALM) to accommodate four tankers up to 70,000 DWT, ship to SALM hose lines, up to four miles of six-inch (internal diameter) conduit for pumping to the beach, and two BTUs to interface with the shore-side systems. The Petersburg also contains stowage cradles for five OPDS utility boats (OUBs) and a 59 LT capacity crane to load/offload the OUBs.