CAPE BLANCO
Year Built
1966
Official Number
505406
Shipyard
Avondale Marine Ways
General Type
General Cargo
Specific Type
Break Bulk
MARAD Type
--
Ship Length
540.00 feet
Beam
76.00 feet
Mast Height
143.00 feet
Net Tons
6320.00 tons
Gross Tons
10950.00 tons
Cargo Capacity
54033.00 square feet
Draft, Summer
22.00 tons
Draft, Lightweight
12.60 tons
Displacement, Summer
21840.00 tons
Displacement, Lightweight
7178.00 tons
Immersion, Summer
69.00 tons
Immersion, Lightweight
54.00 tons
Fate
Still in Govt. Service
Historical Narrative
The break-bulk cargo ship Cape Blanco was originally built as the SS Mason Lykes
at the Avondale Shipyards in Avondale, Louisiana in 1965. The ship was
delivered to its owner, Lykes Brothers Steamship Company on September
20, 1966. The Mason Lykes was a traditional break-bulk cargo
vessel that transported cotton and other palletized and bulk cargoes
from the Gulf of Mexico to the West Indies, Great Britain, and from the
northern border of Portugal to the southern border of Denmark.
Mason Lykes was one of a number of ships acquired by the Maritime Administration in 1985 and assigned to its Ready Reserve Force (RRF). The Mason Lykes was renamed Cape Blanco, placed on a five-day activation status, and homeported in Alameda, California.
Five years later, the Cape Blanco was among the 78 RRF ships activated to support Operations DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM. The vessel was ordered to activate on December 9, 1990, and placed under the operational control of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. It continued in service until September 1991.
Cape Blanco was maintained in a reduced operating status (partially crewed) in Alameda, California, after which it was laid-up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet.
The MARAD's National Register Eligibility Assessment for Cape Blanco, available in the Documents section, also contains a detailed history of the vessel.
Vessel Name History
Mason Lykes
Vessel Name History
Mission
No Mission for this vessel
Historical Documents
| Name | Download |
|---|
Milestones
| Event | Date | Content |
|---|---|---|
|
Ship Name Change
| (No Date) | Ship MASON LYKES changes name to CAPE BLANCO |
|
Acquisition
| 1/11/1985 | |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/1/1997 | ENRTE: San Francisco Drydock |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/1/1997 | At San Francisco Drydock |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/15/1997 | ENRTE: Alameda Point |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/15/1997 | At Alameda Point |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/18/1997 | Conducting sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/19/1997 | Completed sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/12/1998 | No-Notice Turbo Activation 98-4 |
|
Interim Movement
| 9/13/1998 | Completed Turbo Activation |
|
Interim Movement
| 10/25/2000 | Conducting annual maintenance sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 10/26/2000 | Completed annual maintenance sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/28/2001 | Conducting TA-01-03 Sea Trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 5/29/2001 | Completed TA-01-03 Sea Trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/1/2002 | Under tow to San Franciscoe Drydock |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/1/2002 | At San Francisco Drydock |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/16/2002 | Under tow to Alameda CA |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/16/2002 | Returned from drydocking |
|
Interim Movement
| 7/31/2002 | Conducting sea trial and maintenance act |
|
Interim Movement
| 8/2/2002 | Completed sea trial |
|
Interim Movement
| 3/27/2003 | Under tow to SBRF |
|
Interim Movement
| 3/27/2003 | NDRF downgrade | New homeport is SBRF |
|
Disposal
| 9/27/2012 | Vessel cleared historic review. |
|
Location Movement
| 6/16/2016 | Vessel departed SBRF, under domestic sale contract with All Star Metals, LLC. |
Ship Imagery
Status Cards
Documents
| Date | Type | Name | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/14/2012 | National Regioster Eligibility Assessment Cape Blanco.pdf |
|
Plans
No documents for this vessel
Shipwreck Information
No ship wreck information for this vessel
