HARKNESS (T-AGS-32)

Year Built

1967

Official Number

Shipyard

Upper Clyde Shipbuilders

General Type

Naval Auxiliary

Specific Type

AGS Surveying Ship

MARAD Type

Foreign

Ship Length

393.00 feet

Beam

54.00 feet

Mast Height

Net Tons

4330.00 tons

Gross Tons

2890.00 tons

Cargo Capacity

Draft, Summer

Draft, Lightweight

16.70 tons

Displacement, Summer

3540.00 tons

Displacement, Lightweight

3035.00 tons

Immersion, Summer

Immersion, Lightweight

Fate

Still in Govt. Service

Historical Narrative

The Maritime Administration's National Register Eligibility Assessment for USS Harkness, available in the Documents section, contains a detailed history of the vessel.

Photo Captions

1.) USS Harkness underway. MARAD file photo. Date unknown.
2.) USS Harkness underway, with an aircraft carrier in the background. MARAD file photo. Date unknown.

Vessel Name History

HARKNESS (T-AGS-32)

Mission

No Mission for this vessel

Historical Documents

Name	Download

Milestones

Event	Date	Content
Transfer	4/30/1971	"The Harkness was turned over to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), formerly the Military Sea Transportation Service, in a ceremony at the Boston Navy Yard on April 30, 1971"
Arrival	11/1/1973	"In November 1973, while working in Turkish waters, the ship made a courtesy visit to the Russian Black Seaport of Novorossisk"
Public Viewing	7/1/1976	"During the bicentennial celebrations in July 1976, the Harkness was opened to the public at Port Canaveral, Florida"
Service	8/1/1984	"Between August and October 1984 the Harkness participated in Operation Intense Look, an airborne search for mines in the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea in support of the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia."
Service	1/1/1990	Harkness operated in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Deactivation	2/13/1993	The Harkness was deactivated.
Entry	3/29/1993
Transfer	2/16/1994	"On February 16, 1994 it was transferred to the Maritime Administration, and placed in its National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) in the James River off Fort Eustis, Virginia."
Acquisition	2/16/1994	Equip spares;T-AGS 39&40
Interim Movement	1/8/2001	ENRTE: Mass Maritime Academy
Interim Movement	1/10/2001	Temporary training ship for SUNY MA
Departure	2/28/2001	"On February 28, 2001 Harkness departed Fort Schuyler for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, to serve as a stationary facility while the Cape Bon was prepared to serve as a seagoing training vessel for the school"
Interim Movement	2/28/2001	ENRTE: Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Interim Movement	3/1/2001	Returned from SUNY Maritime custody
Interim Movement	6/4/2001	Under tow to JRRF (assigned location)
Interim Movement	6/7/2001	Returned from Mass Maritime Academy
	7/1/2005	"Downgraded upon reassignment of sister ship, TX CLIPPER II, to the BRF"
	7/1/2005	No longer needed for Logistics Support of TX A&M School Ship program
Entered Historic Review	12/8/2008
	1/5/2009
Cleared Historic Review	6/26/2009	Vessel cleared NHPA processing.
Status	9/30/2012	Vessel entered retention status in NDRF program.
	10/11/2012