USNS Salvor (T-ARS-52) is a , the second United States Navy ship of that name.
Salvor was laid down on 16 September 1983 by Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched on 28 July 1984; and commissioned on 14 June 1986.
Salvor is the third ship of the auxiliary rescue and salvage class of vessel constructed for the US Navy. The rugged construction of this steel-hulled vessel, combined with her speed and endurance, make Salvor well-suited for rescue and salvage operations throughout the world. The hull below the waterline is ice-strengthened. Her propulsion plant can develop 4200 shaft horsepower with four Caterpillar 399 diesel engines coupled in pairs to two shafts. She is fitted with a Controllable Reversible Pitch (CRP) propeller within a Kort nozzle on each shaft. The CRP propeller/Kort nozzle combination produces greater thrust and more maneuverability control than conventional propellers. Salvor is also configured with a bow thruster which provides athwartship thrust for additional control of the bow when the ship's speed is less than five knots (9 km/h).
In 1995 and again in 2000, Salvor was the United States Pacific Fleet's winner of the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for most battle-ready ship of her type.
USS Salvor was decommissioned and transferred to the Military Sealift Command in January 2007. Salvor was redesignated as USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52). The ship has undergone modifications for civilian crewing as well as automation and control system upgrades at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Mission and capabilities
Like all Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships, Salvor serves as an element of the United States Navy's Combat Logistics Support Force and provides rescue and salvage services to the fleet at sea. She also supported the protection of forces ashore through post-assault salvage operations in close proximity to the shore. She is designed to perform combat salvage, lifting, towing, off-ship firefighting, manned diving operations, and emergency repairs to stranded or disabled vessels.
Salvage of disabled and stranded vessels
Disabled or stranded ships might require various types of assistance before retraction or towing can be attempted. In her salvage holds, Salvor carries transportable cutting and welding equipment, hydraulic and electric power sources, and de-watering gear. Salvor also has salvage and machine shops, and hull repair materials to effect temporary hull repairs on stranded or otherwise damaged ships.
Retraction of stranded vessels
Stranded vessels can be retracted from a beach or reef by the use of Salvor towing machine and propulsion. Additional retraction force can be applied to a stranded vessel through the use of up to six legs of beach gear, consisting of STATO anchors, wire rope, chain, and salvage buoys. In a typical configuration, two legs of beach gear are rigged on board Salvor, and up to four legs of beach are rigged to the stranded vessel.
In addition to the standard legs of beach gear, Salvor carries four spring buoys. The spring buoys are carried beneath the port and starboard bridge wings and are painted bright orange. Each spring buoy weighs approximately , is long and in diameter, provides a net buoyancy of 7½ tons, and can withstand 125 tons of pull-through force. The spring buoys are used with beach gear legs rigged from a stranded vessel when deep water is found seaward of the stranded vessel.
Towing
Salvors propulsion machinery provides a bollard pull (towing force at zero speed and full power) of 68 tons.
The centerpiece of Salvors towing capability is an Almon A. Johnson Series 322 double-drum automatic towing machine. Each drum carries of drawn galvanized, 6X37 right-hand lay, wire-rope towing hawsers, with closed zinc-poured sockets on the bitter end. The towing machine uses a system to automatically pay-in and pay-out the towing hawser to maintain a constant strain.
The automatic towing machine also includes a Series 400 traction winch that can be used with synthetic line towing hawsers up to 14 inches in circumference. The winch has automatic payout but only manual recovery.
The Salvor caprail is curved to fairlead and prevent chafing of the towing hawser. It includes two vertical stern rollers to tend the towing hawser directly aft and two Norman pin rollers to prevent the towing hawser from sweeping forward of the beam at the point of tow. The stern rollers and Norman pins are raised hydraulically and can withstand a lateral force of at mid barrel.
Two tow bows provide a safe working area on the fantail during towing operations.