Presenter: Dale Shively
Commission Agenda Item No. 4
Texas Clipper Ship Artificial Reef Project
I. Executive Summary: A brief history of the vessel will be presented along with a summary of the Texas Clipper ship reefing project. The timetable for further action on this project will also be presented.
II. Discussion: The 473-foot ship Texas Clipper was launched on September 12, 1944 as the USS Queens (APA-103), a WWII transport and attack ship. It carried troops and wounded from battlefields in the Pacific and was the first attack troop transport into Iwo Jima following the ferocious battle for the island. After the war, she served as the S.S. Excambion, a passenger/cargo vessel. In 1965, she was loaned to Texas A&M University-Galveston as a maritime training vessel for the Texas Maritime Academy and renamed the Texas Clipper. Upon retirement, she was berthed at the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Fleet Reserve facility in Beaumont, Texas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program applied to MARAD for the transfer of the ship for use as an artificial reef over eight years ago. Transfer to the state was completed in October 2006. This ship was chosen by the TPWD Artificial Reef Advisory Committee for use as an artificial reef and dive attraction offshore because of its historical ties to the State of Texas. A summary of the Texas Clipper Ship Reefing Project will be presented and the timetable for further action presented.