Operator USNS Laid down January 10, 1983 Construction started 10 January 1983 | Ordered September 26, 1980 Length 68 m Launched 20 December 1983 | |
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Name USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) Builder Tacoma Boatbuilding, Tacoma, Washington Sponsored by Mrs. Sarah Sumner Rowden | ||
USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) was a Stalwart class Modified Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship of the United States Navy.
History
Stalwart class ships were originally designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold war anti-submarine warfare operations in the 1980s. In 1992, the ex-Contender became the T/V Kings Pointer, the flagship and training vessel of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
In 1999, Kings Pointer was the first vessel to reach the site of the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. In the spring of 2004 she underwent a major overhaul to upgrade her crew's quarters and training equipment. The aft 'tow' deck was also modified and any vestage of her previous employment as a SURTASS ship was removed and reworked.
She remained the flagship and training ship of the United States Merchant Marine Academy until January 2012. She was then transferred to Texas A&M University at Galveston and renamed the "TS General Rudder" (after General James Earl Rudder), where she will be the primary training vessel for cadets of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. In 2013 the vessel had another major overhaul, with the aft fantail's bulwark lowered, aft main deck leveled and hull cleaned and repainted. The vessel was also fitted with additional berthing for 64 personnel.