Ship's tender
Encyclopedia
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
, or a larger ship used to service a ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship. Smaller boats may also have tenders, usually called dinghies
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
.
For a variety of reasons, it is not always advisable to try to tie a ship up at a dock; the weather or the sea might be rough, the time might be short, or the ship too large to fit. In such cases tenders provide the link from ship to shore, and may have a very busy schedule of back-and-forth trips while the ship is in port.
On cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s, lifeboat tenders do double duty, serving as tenders in day-to-day activities, but fully equipped to act as lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
s in an emergency. They are generally carried on davit
Davit
A davit is a structure, usually made of steel, which is used to lower things over an edge of a long drop off such as lowering a maintenance trapeze down a building or launching a lifeboat over the side of a ship....
s just above the promenade deck
Promenade deck
The promenade deck is a deck found on several types of passenger ships and riverboats. It usually extends from bow to stern, on both ddd,çsides, and includes areas open to the outside, resulting in a continuous outside walkway suitable for promenading, thus the name.On older passenger ships, the...
, and may at first glance appear to be regular lifeboats; but they are usually larger and better-equipped. Current lifeboat tender designs favor catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
models, since they are less likely to roll in the calm to moderate conditions in which tenders are usually used. They typically carry up to 100 to 150 passengers and two to three crew members.
Before these ships were mass-produced, the main way to board a larger ship (mainly ocean liners) was to board a passenger tender. Passenger tenders remained based at their ports of registry, and when a ship came through the area, the tender would tie up with the ship and embark passengers on an elevated walkway. These vessels were larger, had a greater passenger capacity, and a broader sense of individuality in their respective companies than the more modern tenders seen today. Because of their increased size, lifeboats and life preservers were commonplace on board these ships (with two boats being the standard amount for an average tender).
Before the technologies that allow submarines and destroyers to operate independently matured by the latter half of the 20th century - and significantly during the Second World War, they were heavily dependent upon tenders to perform most maintenance and supply. Their hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
s in the US Navy were, respectively, AS and AD, while general repair ships were AR. Naval tenders fell out of use during the late 20th century, as the speed and range of warships increased - reducing the need for advanced basing. By the end of the 20th century - all of the tender
Tender
-Transportation:* Tender , a type of railroad car hauled immediately after the locomotive and used to carry fuel and water* Water tender, fire truck tanker-Boats/ships:* Buoy tender, used to maintain Aids to Navigation including buoys...
s in the U.S. Navy had been inactivated except for two submarine tender
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
s. As a result of the settlement of the lawsuits over the Suisun Bay and Estuary - the U.S. Navy and MARAD are engaged in an aggressive disposal program that will have scrapped all of those ships by 2017. While the Navy's plans for tenders held in reserve in other places (such as inactivated submarine tenders USS McKee and USS Simon Lake held at Inactive Ships, St. Juliens Creek Annex) weren't addressed in that lawsuit, since its settlement, the Navy has indicated its desire to dispose of such ships as soon as possible.
Apparently not completely willing to wean itself from tenders all together - but with an eye towards reducing costs - the last two tenders remaining in active service have now been operationally turned over to the Military Sealift Command. Emory S. Land class submarine tenders
Emory S. Land class submarine tender
The Emory S. Land class submarine tender is a class of three submarine tenders in the United States Navy. is the lead ship in the class, the others are and ....
Emory S. Land and USS Frank Cable are now manned and operated by a "hybrid" crew. The Captain and a couple hundred technicians are regular Navy; while the operation of the ship itself is performed by Merchant Marines. Prior to the turn-over both ships had more than 1000 sailors. While at this time the ships still bear the AS classification - both ship's primary mission has been expanded well beyond submarines to include service and support of any Naval vessel in their operational area. Under the traditional Navy classification both ships should be reclassified as AR (Auxiliary Repair) - however - since now operated by the MSC - it's doubtful such a reassignment will occur. Emory S. Land is forward deployed in the Pacific Ocean at Diego Garcia - while Frank Cable is forward deployed in the Pacific at Polaris Point, Apra Harbor, Guam: such forward deployments are to provide service and support at the very great distances of the Western Pacific.
Two tenders, SS Nomadic
SS Nomadic (1911)
SS Nomadic is a steamship of the White Star Line, launched on 25 April 1911 in Belfast. She was built as a tender to the liners RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, and is the last remaining vessel built for the White Star Line still afloat.-History:...
and SS Traffic, were built for the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
by Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
to serve the liners RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic was the lead ship of the Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included Titanic and Britannic...
and RMS Titanic at Cherbourg. Nomadic survives as a museum ship, and is the last remaining vessel built for the White Star Line still afloat.
Types of tenders
- Armed tender, British supply or transport ships that were outfitted and commissioned for military use in the Naval Service.
- Buoy tenderBuoy tenderA buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. The name is also used for someone who works on such a vessel and maintains buoys....
, used to maintain navigational aidNavigational aidA navigational aid is any sort of marker which aids the traveler in navigation; the term is most commonly used to refer to nautical or aviation travel...
s. - Destroyer tenderDestroyer tenderA destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
, a large ship used to support a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. - Dive tender, a ship or boat used to support the actions of diversUnderwater divingUnderwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
. Also known as a diving support vessel. - Lighthouse tenderLighthouse tenderA lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses, or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail and transportation....
, used to tend lighthouses and, later, buoys. - Luxury yacht tenderLuxury yacht tenderA luxury yacht tender is a transport used to service and to provide support and entertainment to a private or charter luxury yacht. Known commonly as the 'yacht's tender' a luxury yacht tender will often be a rigid-hulled inflatable boat which features cushioned inflatable rubber inner tubes...
, a small boat used on luxury yachts. - Motor torpedo boat tenderMotor torpedo boat tenderMotor torpedo boat tender is a type of ship used by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Motor torpedo boat tender's task was to act as a tender in remote areas for patrol boats and to provide the necessary fuel and provisions for the torpedo boats she was responsible for...
, a mobile base and supply ship used to support motor torpedo boats on operations during World War II. - Seaplane tenderSeaplane tenderA seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
, a ship carrying multiple seaplanes. Also known as a seaplane carrier, and considered to be a predecessor to the aircraft carrier. - Submarine tenderSubmarine tenderA submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
, a large ship used to support a flotilla of submarines. - Torpedo boat tenderTorpedo boat tenderThe torpedo boat tender was a type of warship developed at the end of the 19th century to help bring small torpedo boat to the high seas, and launch them for attack....
, a ship used during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to carry torpedo boats to sea and deploy them against enemy ships