SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (17 Nov 2007) — At the end of a long and distinguished career, this military giant resigned slowly to its final resting place Saturday. In an explosion of salty gulf water, the USTS Texas Clipper disappeared into the murky depths, where it will serve as an artificial reef 17 nautical miles off the coast of South Padre Island. "How many Aggies does it take to sink a ship?" was the joke circulating on boats stationed in a U.S. Coast Guard "buffer zone" around the Clipper. Punchlines, depending on creativity, varied. From 1965 to 1996, the ship was used as part of the Texas Maritime Training Academy program at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Its service extends more than 60 years to World War II when the 473-foot transport ship ferried troops into battle and carried the wounded from Iwo Jima. Built in 1944, the ship was decommissioned in 1946 after assisting in the American occupation of Sasebo, Japan, according to Herald archives. It became part of American Export Lines as a cruise liner to the Mediterranean from 1948 to 1958, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reports. The ship arrived in Brownsville in 2006, delivered to Esco Marine for cleaning and dismantling. And on Saturday, the rusted hulk took just minutes to make its final journey. Esco's Richard Jaross sat with his family on the second deck of a nearby boat, watching the Clipper go down. He wondered about the lives that intersected with this historic ship. "I always think of all the people going through it," Jaross said of the more than 600 ships that he has handled at Esco. "How it has affected their lives and how hard people work to keep ships in good shape," he pondered. "And then it comes to us." Esco Marine in joint venture with Resolve Marine Group of Florida dismantled the vessel, removing a stream of hazardous chemicals and materials, and preparing it for the reef program. "We have to recycle things, but I think the ship was recycled with dignity to serve our society as a reef and a thing for people to visit for many, many years," Jaross said. The Texas Clipper is part of the Jaross family history. His son Kenny studied at A&M and was familiar with the ship. "I have pictures of him standing on the bridge," Jaross said of his son who took the Clipper's last tour. Late into Saturday morning, crews made the final cuts on the vessel as media and onlookers floated nearby. The submersion began just after noon and was done in about 20 minutes, leaving clear blue water in its wake. "We were hoping for the ship to go down a little more level," Esco's Rafael Carrasco said, observing that the Clipper tilted as it went under. "I think the seas were significantly rougher than we were hoping for, but the window was getting narrower and narrower (for sinking)," he said. The event was delayed since Thursday because of inclement weather and rough seas. | | The Texas Clipper began her new life as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico 17 nautical miles off the coast of South Padre Island. Scott A. Neidigk, an environmental consultant that worked on the project, found the sinking somewhat mournful. "It's kind of sad that it rolled over and that it didn't land upright," Neidigk said. "I know that there are a lot of A&M people that really wanted to have that upright and I know Parks and Wildlife did. It was set up for diving in the upright position. Now all they can do is go down there and see how it landed. It might have done a complete roll," he said. "But it's in its resting place, however it landed. I know it is going to create a lot of habitat for the fish." Michael Jordan, a Texas Maritime trainee from 1976-80 also watched the ship's final voyage. "I came to say goodbye to her," Jordan said. "I lived on the ship for three years … Not many people get to see their dorm sink." Jordan's mother Rose sat nearby. "It was a moving thing to watch and believe it or not, it brought a tear to my eye just to see it go down," she said and offered a hopeful thought. "It is going to create a new life for itself." About the USTS Texas Clipper Built in Sparrows Point, Maryland by Bethlehem Steel Corp., for the U.S. Merchant Marine Commission and her hull was laid down on March 2, 1944. She was commissioned by the Navy as the Queens (APA-103) in December 1944, serving in World War II. From 1948 to 1958, she was commissioned the SS Excambion as an ocean liner. The Texas Clipper was commissioned as the first Texas Maritime Training Academy ship and served sea cadets at Texas A&M University at Galveston from 1965 to 1996. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's reef program has been actively working on the Texas Clipper project since 1998. SOURCE - Brownsville Herald, Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
