METEOR (T-AKR-9)
Historical Narrative
The former USNS Sea Lift, a Roll On/Roll Off (Ro/Ro)
cargo ship, was built by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co.,
Seattle, Washington and delivered to the Navy's Military Sea
Transportation Service (MSTS), now the Military Sealift Command (MSC),
on May 19, 1967.
The vessel is a somewhat enlarged and improved version
of the prototype Ro/Ro, USNS Comet. Sea Lift was
assigned to MSTS Pacific, and was engaged in the transportation of
military vehicles throughout the East Asia operating area, including
deliveries to Vietnam.
In 1975, Sea Lift was one of seven ships that formed the first pre-positioning squadron in Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean; the ship was renamed Meteor to bring its nomenclature into alignment with that of the Comet, and the chartered Ro/Ro vessels Mercury and Jupiter.
Meteor was among a number of MSC cargo vessels
assigned to the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) in fiscal year 1984, with
administrative control transferred to the Maritime Administration. Full
title transfer came in the early 1990s.
Meteor was stationed in
the San Francisco Bay area and participated in numerous RRF exercises,
and in the major deployment for Operations DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM.
Meteor was moved from Alameda, California to the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in 2003 while still assigned to the RRF in 10-day retention status; however, in 2006 it was downgraded from the RRF program. Initially held in retention status as a "military useful" vessel, it was downgraded to non-retention status in January, 2008.
On July 29, 2015, Meteor was withdrawn from Suisun Bay, destined to be recycled under a scrap services contract by All Star Metals of Brownsville, Texas. Vessel was fully dismantled on April 4, 2016.
The Maritime Administration's National Register Eligibility Assessment for Meteor, available in the Documents section, contains a detailed history of the vessel.
Vessel Name History
1967 - 1975: Sealift (LSV-9)
1975 - present: Meteor (T-AKR-9)
Vessel Name History
No Mission for this vessel
| Name | Download |
|---|---|
| METEOR Profile.pdf |
|
| METEOR Decks.pdf |
|
Milestones
| Event | Date | Content |
|---|---|---|
|
Completed
| 4/25/1967 | Completed by Lockheed Shipbuilding |
|
Ship Name Change
| 9/12/1975 | Ship SEA LIFT changes name to METEOR |
|
Acquisition
| 8/1/1985 | MARAD took title from US Navy |
|
Entered RRF
| 10/2/1985 | Vessel entered the Ready Reserve Force |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/2/1997 | Completed bay trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/15/1997 | ENRTE: New outport at Alameda Point |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/15/1997 | At new permanent outporthomeport |
|
Interim Movement
| 3/19/1998 | Conducting activation sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 3/20/1998 | Completed activation sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/23/1999 | Conducting sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/24/1999 | Completed sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 2/29/2000 | Under tow to SBRF |
|
Interim Movement
| 2/29/2000 | New homeport is SBRF |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/9/2001 | Tow to San Francisco Drydock for repairs |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/9/2001 | At San Francisco Drydock |
|
Interim Movement
| 10/22/2001 | Conducting sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 10/23/2001 | Completed sea trial at Alameda Point CA |
|
Interim Movement
| 11/6/2001 | Moving up pier approx. 65 feet |
|
Interim Movement
| 11/6/2001 | Completed pier movement |
|
Interim Movement
| 1/31/2002 | Under tow to SBRF |
|
Interim Movement
| 1/31/2002 | Returned from repairs |
|
Interim Movement
| 2/11/2003 | ENRTE: San Francisco Pier 50 for repairs |
|
Interim Movement
| 2/11/2003 | |
|
Interim Movement
| 4/2/2003 | Conducting sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 4/3/2003 | Unsuccessful sea trial | Retrial 4/8/03 |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/7/2003 | Under tow to Alameda Pier 1 for bunkers |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/7/2003 | In for bunkering |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/15/2003 | Under tow to Cascade General Portland OR |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/22/2003 | In for drydocking |
|
Interim Movement
| 6/6/2003 | Conducting sea trial to Alameda CA |
|
Interim Movement
| 6/8/2003 | Completed sea trial from Cascade General |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/30/2004 | Turbo Activation 04-4 sea trial | MSC OPCON 8/31/04 |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/2/2004 | Completed Turbo Activaion 04-4 | MARAD OPCON 09-03-04 |
|
Downgraded
| 7/25/2006 | Downgraded from the RRF to NDRF Retention in the Fleet |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/25/2006 | Downgraded from the RRF to NDRF Retention in the Fleet |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/25/2006 | Downgraded from the RRF to NDRF Retention in the Fleet |
|
Stripping Complete
| 7/31/2009 | Vessel stripping complete. |
|
Disposal
| 12/26/2013 | Vessel cleared historic review process. |
|
Withdrawal
| 7/29/2015 | Vessel withdrawn from Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet; to be recycled by All Star Metals of Brownsville, Texas after hull cleaning. |
|
Withdrawal
| 4/4/2016 | Vessel fully dismantled. |
Ship Imagery
Status Cards
Documents
| Date | Type | Name | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/11/2013 | Meteor National Register Eligibility Assessment.pdf |
|
||
| 4/7/1999 | Historical | METEOR Profile.pdf |
|
|
| 4/7/1999 | Historical | METEOR Decks.pdf |
|
Plans
No documents for this vessel
