USS Pembina (AK-200)

USS Pembina (AK-200) – later known as USNS Pembina (T-AK-200) -- was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the U.S. Navy during the closing period of World War II. She supported the end-of-war Navy effort and was subsequently placed in service with the US Army under the Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine with a Japanese crew in Yokosuka, Japan.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Pembina.
USS Pembina (AK-200) and other AKs moored at the west wall, Brandon Pool, Chicago, Illinois, 27 February 1945, waiting transit to New Orleans for fitting out and commissioning.
History
United States
NamePembina
NamesakePembina County, North Dakota
Orderedas type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2154[1]
BuilderGlobe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number121[1]
Laid down23 June 1944
Launched14 October 1944
Sponsored byMiss Elizabeth Mann
Acquired9 May 1945
Commissioned25 May 1945
Decommissioned26 January 1946
Stricken5 June 1946
Identification
FateAcquired by the US War Department 26 January 1946
United States
NamePembina
OperatorShipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine (SCAJAP)
Acquired26 January 1946
In service26 January 1946
Out of service1 July 1950
FateReturned to the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM), 1 July 1950
United States
NamePembina
OperatorMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS)
In service1 April 1951
Stricken31 March 1958
IdentificationHull symbol: T-AK-200
FateTransferred to the US Army, 29 May 1968
United States
NameResolute
OperatorUS Army
Acquired29 May 1968
Commissioned19 June 1968
Decommissioned25 January 1979
Renamed19 June 1968, Resolute
Fate
United StatesUnited States
Name
  • Pembina (1980–1989)
  • Kathleen Pearcy (1989–1992)
  • Pembina (1992–1996)
In service10 October 1980
Out of service1996
FateSold to Friend Ships, 1996
United StatesUnited States
NameSpirit of Grace
OwnerFriend Ships
In service1996
IdentificationIMO number: 8037815
FateScrapped 2008
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeAlamosa-class cargo ship
TypeC1-M-AV1
Tonnage5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement
  • 2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard)
  • 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 × propeller
Speed11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity
  • 3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
  • 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated)
  • 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement
  • 15 Officers
  • 70 Enlisted
Armament

In 1951, she was returned to the Navy and served the remainder of her Navy career with the Military Sea Transportation Service. In 1968 she was again transferred to the Army as USAT Resolute and served with the Army until she was returned to the U.S. Maritime Administration and sold in 1980.

Construction

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Pembina (AK–200) was laid down 23 June 1944, MC Hull 2154, by the Globe SB Co., Superior, Wisconsin, launched 14 October 1944; sponsored by Miss Elizabeth Mann; acquired by the Navy through the Maritime Commission 9 May 1945; and commissioned 25 May 1945.

Service history

After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Pembina loaded cargo at Gulfport, Mississippi, for delivery to Subic Bay, Luzon in the Philippine Islands. She sailed 21 June, arriving 10 August, and proceeded with other cargoes to Okinawa; Jinsen, Korea; and Japanese ports. After off-loading at Yokosuka, Japan 31 December, she was ordered to report to Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka to decommission.[3]

Temporary service with the War Department

Pembina decommissioned 26 January 1946, and was delivered to War Shipping Administration (WSA) representatives for turn over to the US War Department under loan agreement (bare boat basis). She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 5 June.[3]

Pembina operated under Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine (SCAJAP), with a Japanese crew and licensed American officers. Title was transferred to the Navy on 1 July 1950. The ship had been reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register 28 June 1950. She transferred from SCAJAP via the US Army to the Navy Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) 1 April 1951 at Yokohama, Japan.[3]

Assigned to the MSTS

She was assigned to the Commander MSTS Pacific Area at San Francisco, California, 17 April 1956 following service in the Western Pacific Ocean, based in Japan.[3]

Inactivation

Pembina was placed in temporary custody of US Maritime Administration (MARAD) 18 April 1957, and assigned to the Olympia, Washington, Reserve Fleet in ready status. She was given permanent assignment to MarAd 31 March 1958, berthed at Olympia, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day.[3]

Transferred to the U.S. Army

She remained at Olympia in the National Defense Reserve Fleet until transferred to the Army 29 May 1968. Renamed USAT Resolute 19 June 1968, the cargo ship served the US Army as a transportation and training ship.[3] In 1971 she was moved to the Rio Vista Marine Storage Activity Site in Rio Vista, California and used to train personnel in cargo handling. However, when the Army changed over to containerized cargo handling she was no longer useful for cargo or training purposes.[4] She was returned to the US Maritime Commission's Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on 25 January 1979. Resolute was sold by MARAD on 10 October 1980, to Coast Line Associates, L.P.[5]

Merchant service

Resolute was renamed Kathleen Pearcy 26 October 1989, when she was sold to the Seaborne Line, Inc., her name changed again 6 August 1992, back to Pembina. In 1996 she was sold to a US-based Missionary Group called "Friendships". Renamed Spirit of Grace, the former Pembina hauled supplies and delivered aid to needy people in various part of the world. On a mission trip to Israel in 2006, Spirit of Grace burned out a cylinder in her main engine, requiring an expensive rebuild. At the same time, Friendships was offered a newer vessel of similar size, which was accepted and has been renamed Integrity.[6] As a result, Spirit of Grace was returned to the original donor and subsequently sold to ESCO Marine in Brownsville Tx, where she was scrapped in December 2008.[7]

Honors and awards

Qualified Pembina personnel were eligible for the following:[2]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2015.
    4. Pezzaglia 2011.
    5. MARAD.
    6. Friendships.
    7. ESCO.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Pembina (AK-200)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2016.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
    • "Pembina (AK-200)". Navsource.org. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    • "Pembina (AK-200)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
    • Pezzaglia, Phil (27 April 2011). "Exploring Rio Vista's Past: Local Military Installations, Part II". River News Herald. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
    • "Annual Report". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
    • "Past projects". Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
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