Tuesday, May 14, 2013



This is one mean looking US warship docked at Key West. 

HSV-2 Swift


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HSV-2 Swift
Career United States
Name:HSV-2 Swift
Ordered:October 2002
Builder:Incat, Tasmania, Australia
Yard number:061
Acquired:15 August 2003
Refit:October 2008
Homeport:Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Virginia
Nickname:Vomit Comet
Status:In service; Run by US Navy in Key West Florida to intercept drug smugglers. [1]
General characteristics
Displacement:1,668 long tons (1,695 t) full
940 long tons (955 t) standard
Length:321.5 ft (98.0 m)
Beam:88.6 ft (27.0 m)
Draft:11.15 ft (3.40 m)
Propulsion:Caterpillar 3618 marine diesel engines
Speed:45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph) maximum
30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) operating
Range:3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi)
Capacity:Approximately 605 long tons (615 t)
Approximately 28,740 sq ft (2,670 m2) cargo deck
Complement:17 Contract Mariners; berthing for 107 with additional temporary berthing for 87 when seating is converted
Crew:35
Armament:4 × .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun mounts
HSV-2 Swift is a non-commissioned, hybrid catamaran originally leased by the United States Navy as a mine countermeasures and sea basing test platform. She is now privately owned and operated by Sealift Inc. and chartered to the United States Navy Military Sealift Command. She is primarily used for fleet support and humanitarian partnership missions. The HSV stands for "High Speed Vessel", and its home port is Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia. The vessel has two CONMAR crews that typically rotate every three months to keep the ship deployed eleven months per year. The minimum crew size is 35; 18 are military with the balance civilian, provided through American Maritime Officers and Seafarers International Union. On rare occasion that she is in a United States port, it is usually Naval Station Mayport, Florida, supporting the Fourth Fleet or Charleston, South Carolina, for major maintenance. Rota, Spain, is considered by the crew to be the "Mediterranean home away from home".[2]

2 comments:

Urban Cowboy said...

So that's what it is.....

DB said...

That thing will come at your faster than the Herpes Simplex Virus