Would the world’s first purpose-built oceangoing roll-on/roll-off ship make a good museum? The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is offering the USNS Comet to a qualified public and non-profit organization for use as a memorial, a museum and/or in “other non-commercial enterprises.”
Built at Sun Shipyard, she was delivered in January 1958. The ship has a single stern ramp, which allows wheeled vehicles to drive aboard the ship. Once aboard, internal ramps and watertight doors allowed the vehicles to be stowed in the ship’s holds and tween decks. The ship could also be loaded by conventional cargo gear through deck hatches. The Comet is the lone ship of her class. As the first deep sea ro-ro, she is indeed the “Mother of all Ro-Ros.”
The USNS Comet is now in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, California. Any organizations interested in the ship have until July 7, 2014 to submit donation applications to MARAD. For more information, click here.
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