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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2)


Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal

Stalwart Class Ocean Surveillance Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 January 1983, at Tacoma Boat Building Co., Tacoma, WA.
  • Launched, 20 December 1983
  • Delivered to the Navy, 9 June 1984
  • Assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) and placed in service as USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2)
  • Placed out of service, 1 October 1992, custody assumed by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 11 December 1992
  • Transferred by MARAD to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. for service as a training ship, renamed T/V Kings Pointer, date unknown.
  • Current disposition, transferred from Kings Point to Texas A&M University, 16 January 2012
  • Renamed T/V General Rudder, 4 June 2012
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,565 t.(lt) 2,535t.(fl)
    Length 224'
    Beam 43'
    Draft 15'
    Speed 11kts.
    Complement 18 civilian 15 navy
    Armament unknown
    Propulsion diesel-electric, two shafts, 1,600hp

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    Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2)
    Tenacious 301k USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) (gray) and USNS Tenacious (T-AGOS-17) (white) moored at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, HI. in June 1991.
    US DOD # DNSC9203824 photo by OS2 John Bolivia USN, from the Defense Visual Information Center.
    National Museum of the US Navy
    Contender 315k USNS Contender (T-AGOS-2) under way in July 1985, location unknown.
    US DOD # DN-SC-86-03153, a US Navy photo from the Defense Visual Information Center.
    National Museum of the US Navy
    M/V Kings Pointer (US Maritime Academy)
    Contender 39k Ex-Contender (T-AGOS-2) now in service as T/V Kings Pointer, a training ship at the US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., moored pierside at the US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., date unknown. US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y.
    Contender 367k T/V Kings Pointer tied up at the National Oceanographic And Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) dock on the Elizabeth River, at Norfolk, VA., 4 July 1999.
    US Navy photo # 990704-N-4912M-001 by Don S. Montgomery, now in the collections of the Defense Visual Information Center.
    Bill Gonyo
    Contender 57k T/V Kings Pointer moored pierside at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, King's Point, NY., date unknown. Robert Hurst
    Contender
    09660211
    44k T/V Kings Pointer moored pierside at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, King's Point, NY., 19 November 2002.
    Courtesy United States Merchant Marine Academy
    Robert Hurst
    T/V General Rudder (Texas A&M)
    Contender 48k T/V General Rudder moored pierside at Galveston, TX.
    Photos courtesy Texas A & M University, Galveston
    Robert Hurst
    Contender 92k
    Contender
    09660207
    129k T/V General Rudder drydocked at Port Arthur, TX., 11 September 2018.
    Photos by Cstorm21 (real name unknown)
    Robert Hurst
    Contender
    09660208
    130k
    Contender
    09660209
    173k T/V General Rudder on approach to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, 6 June 2019.
    Photos by Cstorm21 (real name unknown)
    Robert Hurst
    Contender
    09660210
    193k

    There is no DANFS History available for Contender (T-AGOS-2) at Navsource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 5 April 2024