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Discover the history of the Ship Almirante Câmara, which has carried out several missions for the Brazilian and United States Navy, but is currently abandoned on the banks of the Itajaí-Açu River.
How did a ship built in North America to serve the United States Navy end up scrapped on the banks of the Itajaí-açu River? In this article, we will explore a little of the history of the old ship Almirante Câmara, which was also part of the Brazilian Navy and today lies like a pile of scrap.
The trajectory of the Ship Admiral Câmara
The Ship Admiral Câmara began to be built on August 23, 1962 by the Marieta Company, located in the state of West Virginia, in the United States. With hull number 911, the first of three ships of this type made for the United States Navy by the Builder, the ship was launched on September 14, 1963, sponsored by Miss Priscila Sands, accepted by the navy and placed into service in the then Military Maritime Transport Service on February 2, 1965, with Master Captain Jorge W. in command of the ship.
Na United States Navy, the Ship Admiral Câmara was named after Sands and carried out several study and research missions. He carried out oceanographic geophysical research in marine areas and conducted experiments on underwater sound propagation.
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In one of the missions, for example, in the early 70s, the vessel deployed large vertical acoustic arrays underground in the Tropical Atlantic. These arrays were unique in having long-term recording capabilities, allowing acoustic data to be collected over several months on the seafloor.
On July 1974, XNUMX, the ship was leased by the Brazilian Navy and renamed Navio Almirante Câmara, in honor of a great supporter of Brazilian hydrography, Admiral Antônio Alves Câmara Júnior.
Brazilian Navy bought the ship in the 90s
In 1990, a contract was signed to purchase the ship by the Brazilian Navy at the end of the lease. O Admiral Chamber was involved in research in the South Atlantic for Brazil, including international operations with United States Navy research and hydrography ships and also carried out several missions in support of the Brazilian Antarctic program. In June 2002, he underwent an Extraordinary Efficiency Inspection, carrying out 8 days at sea and 850,7 miles sailed.
The ship Almirante Câmara was decommissioned on August 7, 2003 in a ceremony at the Rio de Janeiro Naval Base and later sold at auction in 2004. The hull of the Almirante Câmara was put up for auction by Emgepron for 300 thousand reais and was sold by 425 thousand reais.
How is the Almirante Câmara ship currently doing?
A businessman from Vale do Itajaí bought the ship at an auction and towed it to sailors with the aim of transforming the Navio Almirante Câmara into a yacht, however, the project did not go ahead, perhaps due to lack of financial resources.
To give you an idea, the vessel has a length of 63.70 meters, a beam of 11.89 m and a draft of 4.90 m. Its propulsion was carried out with 2 Caterpillar D-378 diesel engines and an electric motor, generating 1.000 shp, coupled to 1 shaft with a controllable pitch propeller.
Equipped with Bow Thruster and an auxiliary maneuvering thruster driven by a 620 hp gas turbine. It has 211 tons of fuel, reaching a maximum speed of 13.5 knots.
Its range of action is 10 thousand nautical miles at 12 knots. Furthermore, its crew can accommodate up to 41 men, including 8 officers, 18 enlisted personnel and 15 oceanographers.
The Almirante Câmara was a fundamental ship for Leplac. It was the only ship to conduct seismic surveys in Antarctica and the reference the report makes is to the period in the US Navy?!
We needed a little more research on when the ship was operating here, in our country.
THE BRAZILIAN NAVY HAS AN OLD VOCATION TO ACQUIRE SCRAP FROM NORTH AMERICANS AND EUROPEANS! I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHO WINS FROM THIS.
No one wins. When you buy a ship, you also have to buy the onboard technology. This means that if there is no defense agreement, not just this one, all the ships will be scrapped quickly. Don't be fooled, because the list is long...
* I WOULD LIKE
I participated as a researcher in a scientific mission in Southern Brazil known as Geocosta Sul I. We worked for 10 days aboard this vessel with great success.
Soon they will be ordering one from a shipyard abroad or even buying another “second hand”.