USS Zeus (ARB-4)
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| History |
 United States |
| Laid down: |
17 June 1943 |
| Launched: |
26 October 1943 |
| Commissioned: |
11 April 1944 |
| Decommissioned: |
30 August 1946 |
| Struck: |
1 June 1973 |
| Fate: |
In commercial service |
| General characteristics |
| Displacement: |
- 1,781 long tons (1,810 t) (light)
- 3,700 long tons (3,800 t) (full)
|
| Length: |
328 ft 0 in (99.97 m) |
| Beam: |
50 ft 0 in (15.24 m) |
| Draft: |
11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Two General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders |
| Speed: |
12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: |
260 officers and enlisted men |
| Armament: |
- 2 × 40 mm (1.6 in) gun mounts
- 8 × 20 mm (0.79 in) gun mounts
|
USS Zeus (ARB-4) was one of 12 Aristaeus-class battle damage repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Zeus (in Greek mythology, the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of the sky and thunder), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
Career
The ship was laid down as the Landing Ship, Tank LST-132 on 17 June 1943 at Seneca, Illinois by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. She was launched on 26 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. C. A. Brown; and converted to a battle damage repair ship by the Maryland Drydock Company at Baltimore, Maryland. Commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia on 11 April 1944, Zeus departed Hampton Roads on 16 May and, after a stop at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, arrived in the Panama Canal Zone on 28 May. She transited the canal on 28 and 29 May and continued her voyage, via San Diego, to Pearl Harbor. The ship arrived in the Hawaiian Islands on 23 June and reported to the Commander, Service Force, Pacific Fleet (ComServPac), for duty. Zeus spent the remainder of World War II repairing damaged ships at intermediate bases such as Eniwetok Atoll. After continued service in the Far East, she returned to San Pedro, California, in the spring of 1946. On 30 August 1946 she was placed out of commission and was berthed at San Diego with the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Zeus remained in reserve until 1 June 1973 at which time her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register.
Zeus was sold 1 August 1974 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to Mickey Jones for commercial service as a salmon processor and freight ship, whereupon she was renamed Cape St. Elias. She was sold to Snopac Products in 1986 for service as a frozen fish freighter in Alaska. Again sold in 1988 to Icicle Seafoods, she was renamed Coastal Star, and served as a seafood processing ship in Alaska. In December 2005 she was resold to Snopac Products, renamed Snopac Innovator. In 2012 she was again resold to Icicle Seafoods, renamed the "Gordon Jensen' and continues in service as a seafood processing ship.
References
Aristaeus-class repair ships |
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