>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” (1969) Vol. 4, p.527. (1976) Vol. 6, p.404 SEA LIFT The transportation of cargo and passengers by sea. LSV-9 Displacement: 16,910 t. Length: 540’ Beam: 83’ Draft: 24’ Speed: 20 k. Complement: 56 Passengers: 12 SEA LIFT CLASS STATISTICAL SUMMARY LSV-9 Length Overall: 540’ Extreme Beam: 83’ Full-load Draft: 24’ Full-load Displacement: 16,940 t. Accommodations: (civilian crew) Officer: 16 Crew: 46 Passengers: 12 Bale Cargo Capacity: 1,018,940 cu.ft. Deadweight Tonnage: 7,140 t. Armament: none Design Speed: 20 k. Engines: 2 Combustion Engineering top-fired Propulsion: Propellers: 2 Designed Shaft Horsepower: 17,000 (operating) SEA LIFT (LSV-9), a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship, was laid down on 18 May 1964 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co., Seattle, Wash.; launched on 17 April 1965; sponsored by Mrs. Warren G. Magnuson; completed on 25 April 1967; delivered to the Navy’s Military Sea Transportation Service (now Military Sealift Command) and placed in service as USNS SEA LIFT (T-LSV-9) on 19 May 1967, Capt. Robert C. Lindquist, Master. Manned by a civil service crew, SEA LIFT completed her maiden voyage, Oakland to Honolulu, in July; then commenced runs to the Far East with cargo consigned to Vietnam. Since then, into 1975, SEA LIFT, redesignated vehicle cargo ship AKR-9, on 14 August 1969, has continued her primary mission, the transportation of military vehicles, for the Military Sealift Command in the Pacific. [Currently classified a C4-ST-67a type vehicle cargo ship, SEA LIFT was renamed METEOR (T-AKR-9) on 12 September 1975 to avoid confusion with SEALIFT class tankers. She was assigned to the Rapid Deployment Force from April 1980 to June 1981 and placed in the Ready Reserve Force on 30 October 1985. METEOR was activated for Desert Storm and, as of mid-1999, was in “layberth” at Oakland, California on 4-day recall notice.] “The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 1998-99,” p.1104-1105 “Jane’s Fighting Ships, 1999-2000,” p.846 Transcribed by Michael Hansen mhansen2@home.com