{{Short description|Cargo and container ship}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=MV Ascension in Port Canaveral.jpg |image_caption=MV ''Ascension'' docked in Port Canaveral, Florida in 2008 }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States<ref name="abs-gc"/> |flag=100x35px|U.S. Ensign |name= |namesake= |owner=Sealift Incorporated<ref name="abs-om">American Bureau of Shipping 2008, ''Owner/Manager Address''.</ref> |operator=Sealift Incorporated<ref name="abs-om"/> |registry=Dover, Delaware<ref name="abs-gc"/> |route=Cape Canaveral, Florida to Ascension Island |ordered= |awarded= |builder=Sedef Gemi Insaati AS<ref name="abs-gc"/> |original_cost= |yard_number=90 |way_number= |laid_down= |launched=21 August 1992 |sponsor= |christened= |completed= |acquired= |commissioned= |recommissioned= |decommissioned= |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |reclassified= |refit= |struck= |reinstated= |homeport= |identification=*{{IMO Number|8912857}} *{{MMSI Number|366944000}} *Call sign: WBAS<ref name="abs-gc"/> |motto= |nickname= |honours= |honors= |captured= |fate= |status= |notes= |badge= }}
|section4={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=title |country=Russia<ref name="abs-gc"/> |flag=100x35px|Russian Ensign |name=MV ''Chekov''<ref name="abs-gc"/> |namesake= |owner= |operator= |registry= |route= |ordered= |awarded= |builder=Sedef Gemi Insaati AS<ref name="abs-gc"/> |original_cost= |yard_number=90 |way_number= |laid_down= |launched= |sponsor= |christened= |completed= |acquired=January 1, 1993<ref name="abs-gc"/> |commissioned= |recommissioned= |decommissioned= |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |reclassified= |refit= |struck= |reinstated= |homeport= |identification= |motto= |nickname= |honours= |honors= |captured= |fate= |status= |notes= |badge= }}
|section5={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= |type= |tonnage=*{{GT|3,972}}<ref name="abs-gc">American Bureau of Shipping 2008, ''General Characteristics''.</ref> *{{DWT|4,152}}<ref name="abs-gc"/> |displacement= |length={{convert|90.0|m|ft|abbr=on}} LBP<ref name="abs-gc"/> |beam={{convert|17.3|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="abs-gc"/> |height= |draught= |draft= |depth={{convert|7.0|m|ft|abbr=on}} molded depth<ref name="abs-gc"/> |hold_depth= |decks=single deck<ref name="abs-hull"/> |deck_clearance= |ramps= |ice_class=IA<ref name="abs-gc"/> |power=2 auxiliary generators rated at 264 kW <ref name="abs-mach"/> |propulsion=6L35MC MAN B&W Diesel A/S<ref name="abs-mach">American Bureau of Shipping 2008, ''Machinery''.</ref> |sail_plan= |speed= |range= |endurance= |test_depth= |boats= |capacity= |troops= |complement=16<ref name="haff"/> |crew= |time_to_activate= |sensors= |notes=Two cargo cranes rated at 25 tonne SWL;<ref name="abs-lift">American Bureau of Shipping 2008, ''Lifting Equipment''.</ref> two general cargo holds.<ref name="abs-hull">American Bureau of Shipping 2008, ''Hull''.</ref>
}} }} '''MV ''Ascension''''' is an American-flagged general cargo and container ship with a capacity of {{DWT|4,152|metric|disp=long}}. Built in 1993, the ship was originally a Russian timber carrier. She was bought by Sealift Incorporated in 1998 and was providing a cargo liner service between Cape Canaveral, Florida and Ascension Island until [http://sealiftinc.org/ascension 2012].
==History== The ship was built in Turkey as the MV ''Chekov'' and originally used by Russian operators to carry timber.<ref name="haff"/>
Sealift Incorporated bought the ship specifically for the Ascension Island liner service.<ref name="haff"/> The first American crew embarked November 25, 1998 and the ship started its maiden voyage under the U.S. flag on December 2, 1998.<ref name="haff"/> Departing from Port Canaveral, Florida, the voyage took 15 days at an average speed of {{convert|12.5|kn}} and covered 4,426 nautical miles.<ref name="haff"/> The voyage ended when the ship dropped anchor in Clarence Bay, Ascension on December 17, 1998.<ref name="haff">Haff 1998, ''M.V. Ascension''.</ref> The original contract was for a period of three years.<ref name="haff"/>
On December 7, 1999, the ''Ascension'' rendered assistance to the French sailboat ''Seneca''.<ref name="amo">American Maritime Officers 2000, ''Ascension Assists Boaters In Distress ''.</ref> The sailboat was en route to Guadeloupe from France and had been becalmed for three days.<ref name="amo"/> In addition to providing 300 liters of fuel, the ''Ascension'' topped off the sailboat's water tank and provided cigarettes and soft drinks.<ref name="amo"/>
==Ship's complement== The ship's complement is the captain and members of the deck, engine, and steward's departments.<ref name="haff"/> As of 1998, the deck department consisted of the chief mate, the second mate, four able seamen, and two ordinary seamen.<ref name="haff"/> The engine department consisted of the chief engineer, a first assistant engineer, a second assistant engineer, and 3 oilers.<ref name="haff"/> The steward's department consisted solely of one chief steward.<ref name="haff"/>
==Route and cargo== thumb|Approximate route from Cape Canaveral to Ascension Island.
The ship travels a dedicated liner route between Cape Canaveral, Florida and Ascension Island so as to arrive at the island at 60-day intervals.<ref name="haff"/> Ascension Island lies in the South Atlantic Ocean, east from Brazil and around {{convert|1000|mi|km}} from the coast of Africa. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, the main island of which is {{convert|800|mi|km}} to the south east. The Island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day.
thumb|The crew of the ''Ascension'' has assisted in green sea turtle research.The cargo consists mainly of intermodal containers, refrigerated shipping containers, as well as break bulk cargo.<ref name="martin">Martin September 19, 1999, ''News from Ascension Auxiliary Airfield (AAF)''.</ref> The ship also carries cargo for non-US, civilian customers.<ref name="huxley">Huxley 1999, ''From the Administrator's desk''.</ref> The unloading process can consist of over 100 separate lifts and take several days<ref name="martin2">Martin December 23, 1999, ''News from Ascension Auxiliary Airfield (AAF)''.</ref>
In addition to carrying cargo, the crew of the ''Ascension'' has assisted in green sea turtle research, delivering tagged animals about {{convert|200|mi|km}} off the coast.<ref name="martin2"/><ref name="trt">Broderick ''et al.'' 2002, p. 3.</ref> Ascension is the most notable nesting ground for ''Chelonia mydas'' in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="FWS">{{cite web | title =Green Sea Turtle (''Chelonia mydas'') | work =North Florida Field Office | publisher =United States Fish and Wildlife Service | date =December 29, 2005 | url=http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/Green-Sea-Turtle.htm | accessdate = February 21, 2007}}</ref> On Ascension, annual nesting occurs in the volume of around 6,000 to 13,000 individual turtle nests.<ref name="Seminoff2002IUCN">{{cite book | last =Seminoff | first =Jeffrey A. | author-link =Marine Turtle Specialist Group | title =IUCN 2002 Red List Global Status Assessment: Green Turtle (''Chelonia mydas'') | publisher =of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) | year =2002 | pages =93 | url =http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Seminoff_2002_IUCNList.pdf | display-authors =etal | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081217092843/http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Seminoff_2002_IUCNList.pdf | archive-date =December 17, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Godley2001">{{cite journal | last =Godley | first =Brendan J. |author2=Annette C. Broderick |author3=Graeme C. Hays | title =Nesting of green turtles (''Chelonia mydas'') at Ascension Island, South Atlantic | journal =Biological Conservation | volume =97 | issue=2 | pages =151–158 |date = February 2001| doi =10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00107-5 | bibcode =2001BCons..97..151G }}</ref><ref name="Broderick2001">{{cite conference | last =Broderick | first =Annette C. |author2=Brendan J. Godley |author3=Graeme C. Hays | title =Monitoring and conservation of marine turtles of Ascension Island: a sustainable resource | book-title =Interim Report to Foreign and Commonwealth Office Environment Fund for the Overseas Territories | pages =13 pp | year =2001 }}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Transport}} *Sealift Incorporated *List of Military Sealift Command ships *Container ship *Bulk carrier
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{cite web |url=http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Federal/judicial/dc/opinions/99opinions/99-5088a.pdf |title=Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia |accessdate=September 26, 2007 |date=January 11, 2000 }} *{{csr|register=ABS|id=465459|shipname=Ascension|accessdate=May 5, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=July 2010}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.amo-union.org/newspaper/morgue/2-2000/Sections/Feature/ascension.htm |title=''Ascension'' Assists Boaters In Distress |accessdate=May 6, 2008 |author=American Maritime Officers |author-link=American Maritime Officers |year=2000 |work=American Maritime Officer |publisher=American Maritime Officers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020724050759/http://www.amo-union.org/Newspaper/Morgue/2-2000/Sections/Feature/ascension.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2002 |url-status=dead }} *{{Cite journal | author = Broderick, Annette C. |author2=Glen, Fiona |author3=Godley, Brendhan J. |author4=Hays, Graeme C. | title = A Management Plan for the Turtles of Ascension Island | pages = 3 | publisher = Marine Turtle Research Group | year = 2002 | url = http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/ascension/Cover.pdf | accessdate = May 6, 2008 }} *{{csr|register=PSIX|id=486260|shipname=Ascension|accessdate=May 20, 2013}} *{{cite journal | author =Haff, Capt. Dana | title =M.V. Ascension | url =http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1414.htm | date =December 17, 1998 | journal =The Islander | issue =1414 | publisher =The Islander Newspaper | location =Ascension Island | accessdate =May 5, 2008 | archive-date =March 20, 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190320005711/http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1414.htm | url-status =dead }} *{{cite journal | author =Martin, Major Larry. | title =News from Ascension Auxiliary Airfield (AAF) | url =http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1450.htm | date =September 19, 1999 | journal =The Islander | issue =1450 | publisher =The Islander Newspaper | location =Ascension Island | accessdate =May 5, 2008 | archive-date =October 18, 2008 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081018200901/http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1450.htm | url-status =dead }} *{{cite journal | author =Martin, Major Larry. | title =News from Ascension Auxiliary Airfield (AAF) | url =http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1465.htm | date =December 23, 1999 | journal =The Islander | issue =1465 | publisher =The Islander Newspaper | location =Ascension Island | accessdate =May 5, 2008 | archive-date =September 7, 2009 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090907021511/http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1465.htm | url-status =dead }} *{{cite journal | author =Huxley, R. C. | title =From the Administrator's desk | url =http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1431.htm | date =April 26, 1999 | journal =The Islander | issue =1431 | publisher =The Islander Newspaper | location =Ascension Island | accessdate =May 5, 2008 | archive-date =September 7, 2009 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090907021500/http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1431.htm | url-status =dead }}
==External links== * [http://www.sealiftinc.com/ Sealift Incorporated] *[http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/ascension/ Marine Turtle Research Group Homepage for Ascension Island Turtle Project] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080402072919/http://www.kalkavanshipyard.com/ Sedef Shipyard]
{{Ships of Sealift Incorporated}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascension}} Category:Merchant ships of the United States Category:Container ships Category:1992 ships Category:Cargo liners Category:Ascension Island