Photo By Jeffrey Landis | APRA HARBOR, Guam (Jan. 28, 2016) – The floating dry-dock “Richland” (ADFM-8) is...... read more read more
APRA HARBOR, Guam (Jan. 27, 2016) – An extensive effort to relocate the floating dry-dock “Richland” (ADFM-8) from the confines of Apra Harbor, U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG), entered the final stages around 1 p.m. Jan. 27, as a multitude of vessels gathered at NBG’s inner harbor. The assembly of maritime assets was required to prepare Richland for an open ocean tow from Guam.
Richland, a 622-feet long, 124-feet wide and 57-feet high dry dock owned by Guam Shipyard (GSY) has been located in Apra Harbor since 1968. “I’ve been working on this dry dock [Richland] since I was 18 – in the 1970s and 80s” said Paul Yatar, a crane operator with GSY. “I worked on her while she was an active dry dock, but it has reached its lifecycle, and it’s a good thing to see it go after all this time.”
On Jan 28, after all inspections and checks of seaworthiness were complete, the 212-foot, 467-ton tug Rhocas got underway from NBG with the Richland under tow. Rhocas was assisted by four additional civilian tug boats – the Mangilao, the Goliath, the Quipuha and the Talofofo, as she maneuver away from the wharf and began her transit to the entrance of the harbor and open ocean.
Richland was built in late 1943 by the Chicago Building & Iron Co., Eureka, Calif., and put into U.S. Navy commission in 1944. She was first towed to Pearl Harbor, then to Eniwetok and Ulithi Atolls before making her way to San Pedro Bay in the Philippines for working on U.S. and Allied ships involved in the closing stages of World War II. It was reclassified as Medium Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock (AFDM)-8 in 1946, and renamed Richland in 1968 when it came to NBG.
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2016 23:57 |
| Story ID: | 187356 |
| Location: | APRA HARBOR, GU |
| Web Views: | 1,466 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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