History
United States
Name	Coastal Spartan (1944–1945) Marengo (1945)
Namesake	Marengo County, Alabama
Ordered	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2125[1]
Builder	Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number	43[1]
Laid down	4 July 1944
Launched	4 December 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. R. W. Higgins
Acquired	24 August 1945
Commissioned	21 September 1945
Decommissioned	23 November 1945
Stricken	date unknown
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-194 Code letters: NEOG
Fate	Returned to Maritime Commission, 23 November 1945
United States
Name	Coastal Spartan
Owner	Maritime Commission
Operator	North Atlantic & Gulf SS Company (1945–1946) South Atlantic SS Line (1948)
Acquired	23 November 1945
In service	23 November 1945
Out of service	22 April 1948
Fate	Sold, 19 July 1965
Notes	sold for non-transportation use
United States
Name	Coastal Spartan
Owner	Boston Metals, Company
Acquired	19 July 1965
Fate	Sold
United States
Name	Cyclone (1971–1975) Ocean Cyclone (1975–1989)
Owner	Storm Drilling Company
In service	December 1971
Refit	converted to drilling ship, December 1971 converted to crane ship, 1975
Fate	Sold late 1989
United States
Name	Northern Victor
Owner	Seafoods Wholesalers, Inc.
Acquired	1989
In service	19 October 1990
Out of service	1999
Refit	converted to fish processing vessel, 1989–1990
Fate	Sold
United States
Name	Northern Victor
Owner	Icicle Seafoods Inc.
Acquired	1999
Identification	IMO number: 7208431 MMSI number: 366987710 Callsign: WCZ6534
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type	C1-M-AV1
Tonnage	5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement	2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard) 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length	388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power	1 × Nordberg, TSM 6 diesel engine 1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × propeller
Speed	11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated) 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement	15 Officers 70 Enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual purpose gun (DP) 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons

USS Marengo (AK-194) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed by the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was declared excess-to-needs and returned to the US Maritime Commission shortly after commissioning.

Construction[edit]

Marengo (AK 194) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2125, by Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc., Superior, Wisconsin, 4 July 1944; launched 4 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Higgins; acquired by the Navy at New Orleans, Louisiana, 24 August 1945; placed in service the same day she was acquired, and was used for ferrying from Beaumont, Texas, to Galveston, Texas. She was placed out of service on arrival the 29 August; and commissioned 21 September.^[3]

Post-war decommissioning[edit]

The end of World War Il reduced the need for cargo ships, so Marengo decommissioned 23 November and was transferred to War Shipping Administration (WSA) the same day. The ship was subsequently operated by North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Co., under the name Coastal Spartan.^[3]

Merchant service[edit]

Coastal Spartan was contracted to North Atlantic & Gulf SS Company and South Atlantic SS Line until being laid up in the reserve fleet in Wilmington, North Carolina, on 22 April 1948.^[2]

She was sold to Boston Metals, Company, on 19 July 1965, for non-transportation use.^[2]

In December 1971, she was sold to Storm Drilling Company, and converted to a drilling ship. She was renamed Cyclone on 30 December 1971. She was again converted in 1975, to a crane ship and renamed Ocean Cyclone.^[2]

She was sold in 1989, converted by the Eastern Shipbuilding Company, Panama City, Florida, to a fish processing vessel in 1989–1990.^[2][4]

In late 1999, she was acquired by Icicle Seafoods, Inc.^[2]

Notes[edit]

Citations

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

• Photo gallery of USS Marengo (AK-194) at NavSource Naval History