The design of the type C3-S-76a was commissioned by the US shipping company Delta Line (Mississippi Shipping Company) and continued the development line of the three ships of the Marad Design C3-S-43a built in the early 1960s . The construction of the five ships, each costing 10.4 million US dollars, was commissioned by MARAD as part of the Long Range Shipbuilding Program from the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company in Pascagoula, which delivered the series of ships in 1968. The ships were finally used on the services operated by Delta Line from the US Gulf to the South American east coast and to West Africa. After 15 years of service, all five ships were decommissioned in 1983 and returned to MARAD. Two ships, the Delta Argentina and Delta Paraguay , were scrapped in 1985, the remaining three were added to the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) and in Del Monte (T-AK-5049), Del Valle (T-AK-5050) and Del Viento (T-AK-5026) renamed. The Del Valle and Del Viento were sold to the Esco Marine demolition yard in Brownsville / Texas for scrapping in March 2008 ; the Del Monte is still there and is intended for training purposes.
technology
Ingalls Shipbuilding built a design that differed in many respects from the usual general cargo ships with a streamlined bridge house at the front, a heavily forward-sloping stem with a bulbous bow and a cruiser stern. The division of the cargo holds was more unusual, if not so noticeable. In front of the bridge superstructure was the first hold with three decks and a hatch that was served by two cargo booms . In the central nave, between the forward and aft superstructures, there were another five dry cargo holds, each with three decks and no fewer than 15 hatches in three rows. The cargo holds, which were also divided in the longitudinal direction and had a large degree of deck opening, were intended to ensure 80 to 90 percent vertical access to the cargo in conjunction with the Greer hatches on the main deck and the large hydraulic tween deck hatches. The transshipment facilities in this area consisted of five 5-ton cranes and a centrally mounted cambered heavy lift gear that could serve holds 3 and 4. Behind the aft superstructure was a refrigerated hold with two decks and six compartments. In addition, cargo tanks were arranged in the lower space of the fore and aft, which were also suitable for loading bulk goods through hatches between decks.
Overview
Five C3-S-76a ships were built.
C3-S-76a class
Commissioning
Shipyard / construction number
Building name
Renaming and whereabouts
1967/68
Ingalls / 495
Delta Argentina
1983 MARAD → canceled in 1985
1968
Ingalls / 496
Delta Brasil
1983 MARAD → 1984 NDRF Del Monte
1968
Ingalls / 497
Delta Paraguay
1983 MARAD → canceled in 1985
1968
Ingalls / 498
Delta Uruguay
1983 MARAD → 1984 NDRF Del Valle → canceled in 2008
1968
Ingalls / 499
Delta Mexico
1983 MARAD → 1984 NDRF Del Viento → canceled in 2008
