American Lancer Class
 The American Lynx
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The American Lancer class was a series of eight container ships operated by the US shipping company United States Lines . The ships developed in cooperation with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) were given the type designations C7-S-68c, d and e . One of the ships, the American Lancer , brought the first containers from the United States to Hamburg on May 31, 1968.
history
In December 1964, United States Lines initially ordered five highly developed but conventional general cargo - type C7-S-68c fast freighters , which were intended for the shipping company's transatlantic service. After the experience with the American Racer class , the ship's design was redesigned as a semi- container ship while the first two units were being built in order to meet the changed requirements due to the success of the container system. Unlike the ships of the American Racer class, the revised C7-S-68c design was primarily geared towards container transport. The type ship and the subsequent building each required construction times of around two years due to this far-reaching redesign, while the other ships only required around one year of construction time. When they were built, the ships of the American Lancer class were the shipping company's first container ships planned and built as such. With the delivery of the type ship American Lancer in May 1968, a single order for a further developed container ship design of the type C7-S-68d followed. This was followed in September 1969 by a third construction lot with two orders for the further developed type C7-S-68e. The delivery of the ships extended to March 1971. The ships proved themselves and were operated until 1988 with the United States Lines.
In April the first three ships, the American Legion , American Liberty and American Lark, were handed over to the US competitor Sea-Land Service, who renamed them Sea-Land Legion , Sea-Land Liberty and Sea-Land Lark . The remaining five ships, the American Lancer , American Lynx , American Astronaut , American Apollo and American Aquarius , were sold to the Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority between June and September of the same year, where they were named Humacau , Mayaguez , Guayama , Nuevo San Juan and Carolina .
After further sales and renaming, five units were scrapped between 2002 and 2004, and another ship was also destined for demolition. Of the remaining two container ships, one is laid up and the last, the Horizon Challenger , is still in service.
technology
With the American Lancer class, the Sun Shipbuilding yard built a basic design of a container ship that was valid for decades without any loading gear and with a deckhouse about two thirds aft. When they were built, they were among the largest container ships in the world. The C7-S-68c type was initially designed for the transport of 1178 20-foot containers, the further developed type C7-S-68d for 1210 TEU. The last development stage, the C7-S-68e, had a capacity of 1434 TEU, of which 150 units could be used as refrigerated containers in a RoRo area. The capacity of the older models was later increased by more stowage on deck. In addition, these ships were also given the option of transporting refrigerated containers retrospectively, albeit only around 70 units.
Overview
| Type C7-S-68c, d and e - American Lancer class | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioning | Shipyard / construction number | Type | IMO number | Building name | Renaming and whereabouts |
| 17th May 1968 | Sun Shipbuilding / 640 | C7-S-68c | 6708379 | American Lancer | Humacao (1988) → canceled in 2002 |
| July 9, 1968 | Sun Shipbuilding / 641 | C7-S-68c | 6812211 | American Legion | Sea-Land Legion (1987) → Sea-Land Challenger (1988) → CSX Challenger (2000) → Horizon Challenger (2003) |
| 17th September 1968 | Sun Shipbuilding / 642 | C7-S-68d | 6820579 | American Liberty | Sea-Land Liberty (1987) → Sea-Land Discovery (1988) → CSX Discovery (2000) → Horizon Discovery (2003) → launched in 2010 → scrapped |
| December 9, 1968 | Sun Shipbuilding / 643 | C7-S-68d | 6828624 | American Lynx | Mayaguez (1988) → canceled in 2007 |
| 4th March 1969 | Sun Shipbuilding / 644 | C7-S-68d | 6905252 | American Lark | Sea-Land Legion (1987) → Sea-Land Crusader (1988) → CSX Crusader (2000) → Horizon Crusader (2003) → canceled in 2010 |
| June 10, 1969 | Sun Shipbuilding / 649 | C7-S-68e | 6916861 | American astronaut | Guayama (1988) → canceled in Alang in 2002 |
| October 9, 1970 | Sun Shipbuilding / 654 | C7-S-68e | 7026259 | American Apollo | Nuevo San Juan (1988) → canceled in 2003 |
| March 4th 1971 | Sun Shipbuilding / 655 | C7-S-68e | American Aquarius | Carolina (1988) → canceled in 2002 | |
literature
- Noteworthy American Ships of the Past and Present - Part XI - The USL American Lancer Class Containerliners . In: World Ship Society (ed.): Marine News . Vol. XXIV, No. 2 , February 1970, p. 56-57 .
- Cudahy, Brian J .: Box boats . How container ships changed the world. Fordham University press, New York 2006, ISBN 0-8232-2568-2 .
- Witthöft, Hans Jürgen: Container . A box makes a revolution. 1st edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-7822-0777-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Page of HHLA
- ↑ Construction list from Sun Shipbuilding (PDF; 115 kB)