The Algol- class (also Fast Sealift Ships ) is a class of eight steam turbine-powered cargo ships belonging to the Military Sealift Command . Originally the ships were built as container ships of the SL-7 class for the shipping company Sea-Land Corporation . Sea-Land put the ships into operation in 1972/73 and sold all eight ships to the US Navy in 1981/1982 after a short layover. The SL-7 container ships were the world's largest container ships when they were built and are still the fastest cargo ships ever built.
The SL-7 ships were built in 1972/73 at the AG Weser shipyards in Bremen, Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij in Rotterdam and the Rheinstahl-Nordseewerke in Emden. With their design for a speed of 33 knots, they were ten to fifteen knots faster than all other ships and thus shortened transatlantic container traffic by several days in one fell swoop. In the first year of operation, some speed records that are still valid today were set for cargo ships. Most notable in this context was an Atlantic crossing of the Sea-Land Exchange in August 1973. It reached an average speed of 34.92 knots, which was 0.97 knots below the 1952 record speed of the United States . An SL-7 ship, the Sea-Land Commerce, also holds the speed record for cargo ships in the Pacific , which is still valid today . After that, fuel prices rose in the wake of the oil crisis , which made it uneconomical to operate the ships, which consume up to 614 tons per day at full load. In the following years, the speed was therefore greatly reduced until the ship octet was finally sold to the US Navy in 1981/82. For their purposes as fast RoRo vehicle transporters (T-AKR Class fast supply ships), the ships were rebuilt and are still part of the US Navy today (see e.g. Altair (T-AKR 291) ).
In order to raise the necessary capital of around 427 million US dollars to build the expensive SL-7 class, Sea-Land founder Malcolm McLean had to sell a large part of his shares in the shipping company to the RJ Reynolds Group in 1969. A few years later he retired completely from the Sea-Land shipping company, not without running another container shipping company a short time later.
technology
During construction, the ships of the SL-7 class were designed for the transport of 896 35-foot containers, a standard size of Sea-Land at the time, and a further 400 TEUs, which made it difficult for competitors to understand the Sea-Land calculation. However, Sea-Land soon switched to operating 20- and 40-foot containers.
The ships
Eight ships were built for the Sea-Land Corporation.
September 27, 1972, AG Weser , hull number 1382, Sea-Land Galloway . From 1982: AKR-294 USNS Antares (T-AKR 294) and remodeling at Avondale Shipyard , New Orleans , LA .
4th October 1972, Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij , hull number 330, Sea-Land McLean . From 1982: AKR-293 USNS Capella and remodeling at Pennsylvania Shipbuilding, Chester , PA
March 30, 1973, AG Weser, construction number 1383, Sea-Land Commerce . From 1984: AKR-292 USNS Regulus and remodeling at National Steel and Shipbuilding, San Diego, CA
April 6, 1973, Rheinstahl-Nordseewerke , construction number 430, Sea-Land Trade . From 1982: AKR-288 USNS Bellatrix and remodeling at National Steel and Shipbuilding, San Diego, CA
May 7, 1973, Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij, building number 331, Sea-Land Exchange . From 1982: AKR-287 USNS Algol and remodeling at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company , San Diego , CA.
September 17, 1973, Rheinstahl-Nordseewerke, construction number 431, Sea-Land Finance . From 1982: AKR-287 USNS Altair and remodeling at Avondale Shipyard , New Orleans , LA .
September 20, 1973, AG Weser, construction number 1384, Sea-Land Market . From 1982: AKR-290 USNS Pollux and remodeling at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA
4th December 1973, Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij, building number 332, Sea-Land Resource . From 1983: AKR-289 USNS Denebola and remodeling at Pennsylvania Shipbuilding, Chester, PA
