USS La Moure County (LST-1194)

The USS "La Moure County" (LST-1194) was the sixteenth of twenty "Newport"-class tank landing ships (LSTs) built for the United States Navy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Named after La Moure County, North Dakota, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

"La Moure County" was laid down 22 May 1970 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Corporation in San Diego, California; launched 13 February 1971; and commissioned 18 December 1971 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, California. The ship's status was changed to Active Reserve Force 30 September 1995. Damaged beyond economical repair 12 September 2000 due to grounding at Caleta Cifuncho Bay, Chile, "La Moure County" was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register 17 November 2000 at Talcahuano, Chile.

Grounding and aftermath

The ship ran hard aground on the coast of Caleta Cinfucho Bay, Chile in the pre-dawn hours of September 12th, 2000 during a routine amphibious training operation with a sister vessel, the Chilean "Valdiva". A combination of the speed of the ship at impact and the incoming tide resulted in extensive damage to the bow, keel, screws (propellers), and rudders. Extensive internal flooding and a sizable spill of fuel oil only served to complicate matters. She was unable to get off the rocky point under her own power, and wave action continued to cause even more damage to the hull and keel. Eventually, the ship was towed off the rocks by a Chilean seagoing tugboat that was in the immediate vicinity.

With the ship's screws mostly missing and the rudders and steering gear destroyed, the crew continued emergency repairs in Cifuncho Bay, a few hundred yards from the impact point, to make her seaworthy for the 700 mile tow to Talcahuano, Chile. The ship's commanding officer was relieved of duty and replaced via helicopter a few days later. The attached Marine force onboard was transferred to another U.S. Naval ship shortly after that. After getting underway October 28th, she arrived at Talcahuano on the 31st, under tow by the Chilean icebreaker "Oscar Viel Toro". This was her final port, as repairs to her severely damaged hull and machinery were judged to be uneconomical. Within a few weeks, 90% of the crew was returned to the United States. A total of forty officers and enlisted personnel remained behind to see the now-derelict ship towed to the Chilean Naval Base at Talcahuano for decommissioning.

In July 2001, having been stripped of all usable material, the damaged hulk was towed out to sea and sunk as a target during UNITAS 2001, at coord|32|49|08|S|74|17|09|W, and now rests at a depth of 1,841 fathoms (850 meters).

References

* cite web|title=LST-1194 "La Moure County"|work=Amphibious Photo Archive
url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/161194.htm|accessdate=August 2|accessyear=2007
* "The Virginian-Pilot", articles by Jack Dorsey "Norfolk-based Navy ship hits reef off coast of Chile"- Sept 13th 2000, "Navy may have to scrap ship that ran aground off Chile"- October 6th 2000, Navy Chief orders one-day safety standown after accidents" Sept 16th 2000; "Navy Times", articles from September to November 2000, and November 2001.

ee also

* USS "La Moure County" (LST-883)
* List of United States Navy LSTs