I was wondering this too. The Tanner/State of Maine is somewhere and the govt still owns it. I’m not sure what the Kennedy’s disposition is.
The counselors are aboard for all SST’s now, something they started in 2021. Cadets will be lined up with appointments to see them by day 3, most with issues related to homesickness or an inability to cope with being so isolated… three days into sea term… with their buddies… on what largely amounts to a floating frathouse.
Imagine when they get stuck on a ship for 120+ days with 19 or 20 people they really don’t like and can’t break articles?
Some of the SSO’s at MSC are getting activation orders for the Empire State. Finally utilizing some of the KP grads and their commitments!
Tanner is mothballed in the James River fleet since end of last year and I believe the Kennedy is mothballed in the Beaumont fleet.
It would take significantly more work to pull either ship out of layup. Not sure about the Kennedy, but the Tanner is tired. Lots of plumbing issues toward the end of her career. Besides from what I’ve read the NSMVs can squeeze up to almost 1000 people. Could be wrong but I don’t think the Kennedy and Tanner combined match that.
If the Empire State isn’t back in time for cruise I’d be willing to bet that SUNY will share a cruise with one of the other Academy’s that still have their ship. Maine and Texas had a combined cruise this year.
Honestly this activation (if it holds at 170 days) won’t be too different than any of the other ships going to shipyard for a few months in the past. The students will just double up on watches or something similar when the ship returns.
You know, it’s too bad we don’t have a large passenger ship or two in the reserve fleet that could be activated for this kind of duty…
I know that the NSMVs were designed with this type of mission in mind, but I could just as easily see putting a few YRBMs on the deck of an MLP for transport to Diego, if that is what the mission actually is.
Doug
Tanner was at one of the local yards about a year ago, fresh paint job and all. I figured the govt was going to put her back to work with ocean science type stuff again.
Wouldn’t even need to reactivate some of them… I think the Golden Bear just got done with her final training cruise.
Permanent officers have right of refusal for same spots during an activation.
I’d think that the learning process of rapid posession, crewing, repositioning and refitting is part of the calculus as to why they’re not pulling from the mothball fleet. I’m also guessing that this is a checkoff item when it comes to future budgeting, a partial proof of dual-use ships to justify underwriting the cost of building and maintaining them.
As an aside, why didn’t Kings Point get a new ship?
They aren’t really into that whole shipping thing?
They’ve never had a big ship. Probably because their model is to send all of the cadets out on active ships, so they don’t need one that can hold 500+.
They did, briefly. The first Kings Pointer was an Artemis Class cargo ship, same class as the USS Hydrus (TSES 2.) They had it for maybe a year or two at most before downsizing.
But yeah, due to sea year there’s no need for them to have a training vessel. They really only use the Kings Pointer for mids who need to catch up on sea days or redo sections of their projects (getting more celnav or terrestrial nav in…)
EDIT: it was the USS Devosa (AKA-27) and she served as the TS Kings Pointer from April 1946 until her return to the Maritime Commission in May 1947.
Ah, ok that makes sense.
I was there last week on a tour & that is exactly what was told to me. When I asked if they were going to get a big new training ship too I was told they didn’t need a big ship because their cadets have 30 big ships to choose from. The USMMA did get a billion dollars to spend but they are using it to update the campus, equipment & teaching areas.
Tote Services appears to have just got a kicker boost $ adjustment for the remainder of FY26 to operate as GA of the Empire State was in federal register.
Word a I heard is up to 2 years in DG, they are completing their COI, ABS annual & intermediate surveys and UWILD then will be heading east.
Well that’s going to make for a big problem.
Nah, if Texas’s administration would just go back to letting all juniors with the minimum GPA and pre-reqs commercial ship like they used to, the USTS LSS will have a decent amount of room for SUNY and the other SMA’s can help out too.
Just gotta convince the College Station bootlickers in admin at TMA to stop focusing on demerits for drill and ceremony BS, since that was a “disqualifying factor” for commercial shipping over the last few years.
Literally no little-used grey hulls that could be activated for this job? Has to be an NSMV? Interesting…
It’s gonna be a floating hotel, what ROS piece of shit has the hotel services these do?