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SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 180 feet
Beam: 37'1"
Draft: 14'7"
Displacement: 700 tons (light) 1,026 tons (full)
Dead Weight: 326 tons
Diesel Fuel: 30,000 gallons
Armament: n/a
Propulsion: diesel-electric w/ two engines, one shaft
Class
Launched: 1943
PLANETREE LINKS
uscg.mil (Planetree's history)
uscg.mil (180-foot buoy tenders)
usmilnet.com
(history of the 180s)
USCG.mil (historical significance of the 180s)
Augusta State University (Planetree in Vietnam)
alaska.fm (Planetree's in Alaska)
The Old Guard (synopsis of Planetree's history)
fbodaily.com (request for dockside repair bids 12/13/96)
fbodaily.com (request for dry docking repair bids 12/5/97)
military.com (Planetree's unit roster)
archives.gov (Planetree's records)
GENERIC WLB LINKS
wikipedia.com re: 180' buoy tenders
USCG re: fire safety analysis of 180' buoy tenders
USCG Report: 180' Buoy Tenders (.pdf 5.9 meg)
PROPOSED R/V MARTIN VITOUSEK
180'
Maritime Research Ship
ex-USCGC Planetree WLB-307
On July 3rd, 2008, the Atoll Institute executed a
Vessel Conveyance agreement with the
CAS Foundation,
Inc. of Indiana for title to and possession of ex-USCGC Planetree
WLB-307, which in turn is pursuant to a
Conveyance Agreement dated December 1, 2006
and executed by the CAS Foundation and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The
ship is presently moored at the Suisun Bay Ready Reserve Fleet (aka
the "mothball fleet"). Our plans are to recommission and put her into
service
as a maritime and oceanographic research vessel, as well as a serving as a merchant marine
training vessel while providing logistical support to a planned
pilot program for sustainable dredging and filling to combat sea level rise on
Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll, which is located midway between Hawaii and Tahiti in
the Northern Line Chain of the Republic of Kiribati. Other duties may
include search and rescue, pollution control and fire fighting, for which she
was originally designed and is very well suited.
The Planetree will be renamed and documented as the "R/V Martin Vitousek" in honor of the late
Dr. Martin Vitousek, Ph.D., a
University of Hawaii geophysicist who established
in the 1960s the Pacific Equatorial Research
Laboratory (PERL) at the former undersea telegraphic
Cable Station on Tabuaeran
(Fanning) Atoll, located midway between Hawaii and Tahiti.
However, in honor of his nickname "Marty" she would be affectionately referred to as such.
Plans are underway to
secure a Permit to Proceed from the USCG for the "Marty" to be towed from the
mothball fleet to
a dry dock located on the west coast for bottom painting, repairs and
upgrades prior to a planned repositioning cruise to Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll.
Alternatively, if the Atoll Institute is able to secure and recommission a 109'
ocean going tug, the ex-USN Tuscumbia YTB-762
(to be named the R/V PERL), from the Maritime Administration (MARAD) then it
might be used to tow the "Marty" from Suisun Bay to Tabuaeran or Kiritimati
(Christmas) Atoll in the Republic of Kiribati for mooring and later recommissioning there.
A tour of the "Marty" was conducted at Suisun Bay on July 22
& 24, 2008 for
the directors, some patrons, and a ship surveyor to assess her condition and
presumed serviceability, at which time it was found that she is suitable for
re-activation as a maritime research ship.
USCG officers and crew members who served on her or any of her sister ships are
cordially invited to participate
in her re-activation.
Webpage under construction. Return soon
for updates.
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