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USNS Impeccable

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Impeccable.

USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) is an Impeccable-class ocean surveillance ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 2001 and assigned to the Navy’s Special Missions Program.

History
OwnerMilitary Sealift Command
BuilderAmerican Shipbuilding, Tampa, Florida
Laid downMarch 15 1992
LaunchedAugust 28 1998
Completedat Halter Marine Inc., Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1995
In serviceMarch 22, 2001
Honors and
awards		National Defense Service Medal
StatusTemplate:Ship fate box active in service
General characteristics
TypeImpeccable-class ocean surveillance ship
Displacement5,368 tons
Length281 ft 5 in (85.78 m)
Beam95 ft 8 in (29.16 m)
Draft26 ft (7.9 m)
Propulsiondiesel-electric, two shafts, 5,000shp
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement25 civilian mariners, 25 military
Sensors and
processing systems		SURTASS passive and active low frequency sonar arrays

Construction

Impeccable was built by American Shipbuilding, Tampa, Florida. She was laid down on 15 March 1992, completed by Halter Marine Inc., Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1995.[1] She was launched 28 August 1998 and was delivered to the Navy on 22 March 2001 which assigned her to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) Special Missions Program.[2]

Design

The ship is a designated T-AGOS vessel built to tow a Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System. The ship's catamaran-type small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) design prevents the vessel from rolling in heavy seas and gives additional deck space for storing the acoustic equipment.[3]

Mission

The mission of Impeccable is to directly support the Navy by using SURTASS passive and active low frequency sonar arrays to detect and track undersea threats.

Operational history

South China Sea incident

 
Two Chinese trawlers stop directly in front of the Impeccable, forcing the ship to conduct an emergency "all stop" in order to avoid collision.

On March 8, 2009, the Impeccable was harassed while collecting data in international waters, as recognized by the United States, 75 miles south of Hainan. China, claims this area in the South China Sea as a part of its Exclusive Economic Zone.[4][5][6] The unarmed Impeccable was shadowed by five Chinese ships, including a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol Vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel, a Chinese Navy ocean surveillance ship, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, which maneuvered close to the Impeccable, with two closing in to 50 feet (15 m), waving Chinese flags, and ordering the Impeccable from the area.[7] The civilian crew sprayed water at one of the nearest Chinese ships, but the Chinese sailors, despite the force of the water, stripped down to their underwear, and the vessel closed to within 25 feet of the American ocean surveillance ship. Shortly after the incident, the Impeccable radioed the Chinese crews, informing them of its intentions to leave the area, and requesting a safe pass to travel. When trying to leave the area, however, two of the Chinese ships stopped directly in front of the Impeccable, forcing it to do an emergency stop to avoid a collision.[8][9] The crew aboard one of the Chinese ships also used a grappling hook to try to snag Impeccable's towed sonar array.[10]

This incident was the latest in a string of incidents involving the Impeccable and Chinese vessels. On March 5, 2009, a Chinese frigate approached Impeccable and crossed its bow at a range of approximately 100 yards. This was followed less than two hours later by a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducting 11 fly-bys of Impeccable at an altitude of 600 feet (180 m) and a range from 100–300 feet (30–90 m). The frigate then crossed Impeccable's bow again, this time at a range of approximately 400–500 yards without rendering courtesy or notice of her intentions.[11][12]

On Saturday, March 7, a Chinese intelligence collection ship contacted the Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or "suffer the consequences."[13]

The United States has lodged formal protests. Under international law, the U.S. military can conduct activities "in waters beyond the territorial sea of another state without prior notification or consent" including in an exclusive economic zone of another country, said a Pentagon spokesman. "The unprofessional maneuvers by Chinese vessels violated the requirement under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean."[9][14]

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says the USNS Impeccable was conducting activities in China's Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea, violating international and Chinese law. Legal experts, however, state that China has no legal foundation to claim that it can prevent foreign naval vessels from operating within its Exclusive Economic Zones.[15] The Foreign Ministry also said that the Pentagon's complaint that five Chinese vessels had harassed the USNS Impeccable were "totally inaccurate".[16][17] China's claim has already been disputed by several released reports, which all state that the Impeccable was harassed numerous times, both while operating in the area and when attempting to leave.[18][19][20] "China's done this before, they've harassed boats that they feel have intruded into an area they claim," said Wendell Minnick of Jane's Defence Weekly.

The Impeccable's surveillance mission is focused mainly on undersea warfare. This may be of a particular interest to the Chinese government, as they operate an estimated 62 submarines, most of which are diesel electric powered.[21]

Honors and awards

Impeccable personnel are qualified for the following medals:

See also

References

  1. ^ "USNS IMPECCABLE (T-AGOS 23)". Naval Vessel Register. United States Navy. October 21, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  2. ^ Ship Inventory - USNS IMPECCABLE (T-AGOS 23) - Ocean Surveillance Ship, Military Sealift Command
  3. ^ T-AGOS 23 Impeccable - Swath-L (Large) Ocean Surveillance Ship
  4. ^ US And China Face-Off On The High Seas, Sky News, March 9, 2009
  5. ^ China hits out at US on navy row BBC News 2009-03-10
  6. ^ Chinese ships 'harass' US vessel, BBC News, 9 March 2009
  7. ^ Pentagon: Chinese vessels harassed unarmed ship, Associated Press, March 9, 2009
  8. ^ U.S. protests harassing of Navy ship by Chinese, MSNBC, March 9, 2009.
  9. ^ a b U.S. Protests 'Harassment' of Navy Ship by Chinese Vessels, Washington Post, March 9, 2009 Cite error: The named reference "WP0309" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ Close call off South China Sea, MSNBC, March 9, 2009
  11. ^ USNS Impeccable: Chinese Vessels Harass US Navy Ship, March 9, 2009
  12. ^ Pentagon says Chinese vessels harassed U.S. ship, CNN
  13. ^ Chinese Vessels Harass U.S. Navy Ship, Pentagon Says, Bloomberg, March 9, 2009
  14. ^ U.S. says Chinese vessels harassed Navy ship, Reuters, March 9, 2009
  15. ^ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/63656.html
  16. ^ China hits out at US on navy row BBC News 2009-03-10
  17. ^ Foreign Ministry says the USNS Impeccable violating international and Chinese law, Xinhua, March 10, 2009
  18. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090310/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_china_incident
  19. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/10/south-china-navy
  20. ^ http://www.huliq.com/3257/78221/spy-ship-usns-impeccable-harassed-chinese-ships-report
  21. ^ http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/sub/default.asp

  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

 

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