USS La Moure County (LST-1194) Arc Patch
La Moure County was a Newport-class tank landing ship which were designed to meet the goal put forward by the United States amphibious forces to have a tank landing ship (LST) capable of over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). However, the traditional bow door form for LSTs would not be capable. Therefore, the designers of the Newport class came up with a design of a traditional ship hull with a 112-foot (34 m) aluminum ramp slung over the bow supported by two derrick arms. The 34-long-ton (35 t) ramp was capable of sustaining loads up to 75 long tons (76 t). This made the Newport class the first to depart from the standard LST design that had been developed in early World War II
The ship was run aground near the coast of Caleta Cifuncho Bay, Chile, in the pre-dawn hours of 12 September 2000 during a routine amphibious training operation with a sister vessel, the Chilean Navy's Valdivia. A combination of the speed of the ship at impact and the incoming tide resulted in extensive damage to the bow, keel, screws, and rudders. Extensive internal flooding and the dumping of 40,000 US gallons (150,000 L; 33,000 imp gal) of diesel fuel only served to complicate matters. No injuries were suffered by the crew or marines aboard the ship.
Following the grounding, it was found that the captain of the ship had failed to chart his position correctly. This incident led to a complete standdown by all USN vessels to assess their safety and navigation protocols. La Moure County's grounding, along with several navigational mishaps by other USN vessels led to the USN re-assessing its training in navigation. The USN ordered new simulation training for bridge officers.
La Moure County was deemed damaged beyond repair. The ship was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 November 2000. After five weeks of work by divers stabilizing the vessel, La Moure County was towed by the Chilean icebreaker Almirante Óscar Viel to Talcahuano, Chile where further repairs were deemed uneconomical. Having been stripped of all usable material, the damaged hulk of La Moure County was towed out to sea and sunk as a target on 10 July 2001 during UNITAS 2001.
La Moure County was a Newport-class tank landing ship which were designed to meet the goal put forward by the United States amphibious forces to have a tank landing ship (LST) capable of over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). However, the traditional bow door form for LSTs would not be capable. Therefore, the designers of the Newport class came up with a design of a traditional ship hull with a 112-foot (34 m) aluminum ramp slung over the bow supported by two derrick arms. The 34-long-ton (35 t) ramp was capable of sustaining loads up to 75 long tons (76 t). This made the Newport class the first to depart from the standard LST design that had been developed in early World War II
The ship was run aground near the coast of Caleta Cifuncho Bay, Chile, in the pre-dawn hours of 12 September 2000 during a routine amphibious training operation with a sister vessel, the Chilean Navy's Valdivia. A combination of the speed of the ship at impact and the incoming tide resulted in extensive damage to the bow, keel, screws, and rudders. Extensive internal flooding and the dumping of 40,000 US gallons (150,000 L; 33,000 imp gal) of diesel fuel only served to complicate matters. No injuries were suffered by the crew or marines aboard the ship.
Following the grounding, it was found that the captain of the ship had failed to chart his position correctly. This incident led to a complete standdown by all USN vessels to assess their safety and navigation protocols. La Moure County's grounding, along with several navigational mishaps by other USN vessels led to the USN re-assessing its training in navigation. The USN ordered new simulation training for bridge officers.
La Moure County was deemed damaged beyond repair. The ship was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 November 2000. After five weeks of work by divers stabilizing the vessel, La Moure County was towed by the Chilean icebreaker Almirante Óscar Viel to Talcahuano, Chile where further repairs were deemed uneconomical. Having been stripped of all usable material, the damaged hulk of La Moure County was towed out to sea and sunk as a target on 10 July 2001 during UNITAS 2001.
La Moure County was a Newport-class tank landing ship which were designed to meet the goal put forward by the United States amphibious forces to have a tank landing ship (LST) capable of over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). However, the traditional bow door form for LSTs would not be capable. Therefore, the designers of the Newport class came up with a design of a traditional ship hull with a 112-foot (34 m) aluminum ramp slung over the bow supported by two derrick arms. The 34-long-ton (35 t) ramp was capable of sustaining loads up to 75 long tons (76 t). This made the Newport class the first to depart from the standard LST design that had been developed in early World War II
The ship was run aground near the coast of Caleta Cifuncho Bay, Chile, in the pre-dawn hours of 12 September 2000 during a routine amphibious training operation with a sister vessel, the Chilean Navy's Valdivia. A combination of the speed of the ship at impact and the incoming tide resulted in extensive damage to the bow, keel, screws, and rudders. Extensive internal flooding and the dumping of 40,000 US gallons (150,000 L; 33,000 imp gal) of diesel fuel only served to complicate matters. No injuries were suffered by the crew or marines aboard the ship.
Following the grounding, it was found that the captain of the ship had failed to chart his position correctly. This incident led to a complete standdown by all USN vessels to assess their safety and navigation protocols. La Moure County's grounding, along with several navigational mishaps by other USN vessels led to the USN re-assessing its training in navigation. The USN ordered new simulation training for bridge officers.
La Moure County was deemed damaged beyond repair. The ship was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 November 2000. After five weeks of work by divers stabilizing the vessel, La Moure County was towed by the Chilean icebreaker Almirante Óscar Viel to Talcahuano, Chile where further repairs were deemed uneconomical. Having been stripped of all usable material, the damaged hulk of La Moure County was towed out to sea and sunk as a target on 10 July 2001 during UNITAS 2001.