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Did you know that the Training Ship Golden Bear (TSGB) is Cal Maritime's fourth training ship and the third ship to hold the name the Golden Bear? The TSGB was built in 1989 by Bethlehem steel
Corporation at Sparrows Point, Maryland. Designed as an oceanographic survey ship for the U.S.
Navy, she was originally named USNS Maury(T-AGS39), after Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury the father of American oceanography. At that time, the Maury (hull Number4667) was the largest and
fastest oceanographic ship ever built.
In September 1994, she was transferred to CMA by the Navy as a replacement training
ship for The California Maritime Academy. After a $6+ million makeover by the Maritime Administration, she became the training vessel she is today.
The TSGB (Official Number CG021994) has a lightship displacement of 9,319 tons and a
displacement of 15,928 tons at maximum operating draft. Gross registered tonnage is 10,930. At
499 feet, 10 inches long and 72 feet wide (molded beam), the TSGB has a maximum operating
draft of 30 feet, 6 inches. With 5,400 square feet of deck space, including a helicopter deck, she
is capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots. The vessel has 503 separate compartments, and
measures 151 feet from keel to mast top. Each of her two anchors weighs approximately 10,008 pounds, and each is attached with 900 feet of chain.
The bridge is equipped with two radars, two GPS sets, a gyrocompass, a loran, a satellite
navigator, two GMDSS transceivers, and four VHF radios, The TSGB is also equipped with
InMarSat "A" and "C", and thus is capable of worldwide satellite communications for both voice and fax.
The ship has 18 watertight doors, 269 general alarm bell, over 345 fire dampers, 48 fire
stations, and 136 mounted portable fire extinguishers. She has three fire pumps and an AFFF foam system, as well as fixed halon fire-fighting capability.
The TSGB is powered with twin Enterprise R5-V16 diesels capable of generating 17,000
horsepower at 120 shaft RPM or just over one horsepower per ton. The weight-to-horsepower
ration is the equivalent of strapping a 12-horse-power outboard motor to the stern of a 70-foot
cabin cruiser. The propeller, a fixed five-blade nickel aluminum bronze wheel, weighs 47,191
pounds. The prop is 19 feet, 6 inches in diameter and has a pitch of 16.7 feet. It is attached to the shaft with a shrink interference fitting.
The shaft, a hollow tube of mild steel, is 23.8 inches in diameter. Full ahead to stop, using
crash-astern RPM, takes approximately 4 minutes and 3,945 feet, or over half a mile. Turning the ship 90 degrees at full ahead with rudder hard-over takes a full minute.
The TSGB can carry 1,108,386 gallons of diesel fuel. She burns approximately 29.4
gallons per mile (1.25 tons or 9 barrels per hour at 14 knots.) This is roughly the equivalent of 216
barrels or 30 tons of fuel consumed per day. At this rate, she could steam over 53 days and
37,687 nautical miles without refueling—one-and-a-half times around the world! The cost of fuel at
$225 per ton equates to the TSGB burning approximately $7,000 worth of fuel per day.
At sea, a three 900 kW generators fill all electrical needs. Once alongside, the ship can
accommodate up to 1,600 amps from shore feeds via two 400-amp shore connections. Based on
maintenance costs, fuel, and amortization, and including one two-month cruise, the TSGB costs an
estimated $2,000 a day to operate, While actively steaming, operating costs are roughly $10,000
per day. Just to paint the bottom with a single coat of paint costs $76,000 for the paint alone!
The ship has the capacity to carry 25,894 gallons of potable water. This would last about
six days if the engineers didn't distill water daily. Staff and crew generate about 8,000 gallons of
sewage daily, not all of which comes from the 80 toilets aboard. The Red Fox sewage system is
designed to handle 4,000 gallons of sewage a day, but has the capacity to handle 16 times that amount if necessary.
On each cruise the ship's medical staff handles over 300 sick-bay calls. The most common
complaint is upper respiratory ailments, followed by athlete's foot.
The Stewards Department serves over 47,000 meals on each cruise. Each day at
breakfast cadets and crew consume over 180 eggs and 15 gallons of milk. During the course of a two-month training cruise, they consume over 900 loaves of bread, over 900 pounds of sugar
(thanks to our pastry chef), over a half ton of coffee, over 1,000 pounds of rice, and over 8,000
pounds of meat and poultry. Each person uses an average of 30 to 40 gallons of fresh water each
day. The 900 heads of lettuce absorb over 40 gallons of ranch dressing. On every cruise, stewards reportedly lose about 200 spoons.
Written By: Ms. Tuuli Messer
Assistant Professor
Chair - Academic Senate
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