TAGS 26 Silas Bent Survey Ship
The Silas Bent class of surveying ships were designed specifically for surveying operations. They have a bow propulsion unit for precise maneuverability and station keeping. The two similar units of the Wilkes class were recently discarded, with WilkesT-AGS-33 transfered to Tunisia on 29 September 1995. Survey Ships gather data which provides much of the military's information on the ocean environment. Oceanographic and hydrographic survey ships are used to study the world's oceans. The collected data helps to improve technology in undersea warfare and enemy ship detection. The oceanographic and hydrographic survey ships' multibeam, wide-angle precision sonar systems make it possible to continuously chart a broad strip of ocean floor. Military Sealift Command's Special Missions program supports worldwide oceanographic programs with ships which perform acoustical, biological, physical and geophysical surveys. Dyn Marine Services of Virginia, Inc.(DMS) a unit of DynCorp, manages, operates, and maintains these ships for the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) in Mississippi. DMS provides logistics, operations, engineering, and manning support for these US Naval oceanographic ships which are coordinated from the DMS Reston office. The ships are operated worldwide conducting ocean surveys at the direction of NAVOCEANO, with Commander Military Sealift Command (COMSC) acting as the Administrative Command.
Specifications |
|
| Builder | American SB Co., , Lorain OH Christy Corp, Sturgeon Bay, WI Defoe Shipbuilding |
| Power Plant | Diesel-electric; 2 Alco diesel generators; 1 Westinghouse/GE motor; 3,600 horsepower (2.69 MW); 1 shaft; cp prop; bow thruster; 350 horsepower (261 kW) |
| Length | Overall Length: 285 ft [287 ft TAGS-33/34] Waterline Length: 265 ft |
| Beam | Extreme Beam: 48 ft Waterline Beam: 48 ft |
| Draft | Maximum Navigational Draft: 15 ft Draft Limit: 17 ft |
| Displacement | Light Displacement: 1935 tons Full Displacement: 2580 tons [2540 tons TAGS-33/34] Dead Weight: 645 tons |
| Speed | 15 knots when towing |
| Crew | 31 civilians (12 officers) plus 28 scientists |
Ships |
||||||
| Name | Number | Builder | Homeport | Ordered | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
| Silas Bent | T-AGS 26 | American SB | Pacific | 23 May 1963 | 23 Jul 1965 | |
| Kane | T-AGS 27 | Christy Corp | Atlantic | 05 Feb 1964 | 19 May 1967 | |
| Wilkes | T-AGS 33 | Defoe SB | 27 Sep 1967 | 28 Jun 1971 | 29 Sep 1995 | |
| Wyman | T-AGS 34 | Defoe SB | Pacific | 27 Sep 1967 | 03 Nov 1971 | 10 Mar 1997 |
Sources and Resources
- Oceanographic Vessel Locator [as of 04 March 1999]
