USS Hoel (DDG-13)
| | Career | |
|---|
| Ordered: |
| Laid down: | 3 August 1959 |
| Launched: | 4 August 1960 |
| Commissioned: | 16 June 1962 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 October 1990 |
| Fate: |
| Struck: | 20 November 1992 |
| General Characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | 3,370 tons standard, 4,500 tons full load |
| Length: | 437 feet (133.2 m) |
| Beam: | 47 ft (14.3 m) |
| Draft: | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Geared steam turbines
70,000 shaft horsepower (52 MW)
2 propeller shafts |
| Speed: | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Range: |
| Complement: | 24 officers, 330 enlisted men |
| Armament: | 1 x twin TARTAR surface-to-air missile launcher
2 x 5in/54 (127mm/) Mark 45 guns
6 x 12.75in MK 32 torpedo tubes (2x3)
1 eight-tube ASROC launcher |
| Aircraft: | None |
| Motto: |
USS Hoel (DDG-13), named for Lieutenant Commander
William R. Hoel USN (
1824–
1879), was a
Charles F. Adams-class guided-missile armed
destroyer.
Hoel was laid down by
Defoe Shipbuilding Company in
Bay City, Michigan, on
3 August 1959, launched on
4 August 1960 by Mrs. Harry H. Long, granddaughter of Lieutenant Commander Hoel and commissioned on
16 June 1962.
Hoel served as plane guard for
Aircraft carriers on
Yankee Station in the
Tonkin Gulf, participated in
Sea Dragon operations, patrolled on
Search and rescue duties and carried out
Naval Gunfire Support missions during the conflict in
Vietnam.
Hoel was decommissioned on
1 October 1990, stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register on
20 November 1992 and sold on
20 June 1994.
The
Hoel was one of seven decommissioned US naval vessels purchased by
Charleston Shipbuilders Inc. (CSI) in 1994. The corporation planned to use the ships' power plants to generate electricity which they would then sell commercially. In theory, each ship would be able to generate approximately fifty
megawatts of
electricity, enough to supply approximately 150,000 households.
The city of
Manaus, Brazil had rapidly expanded since it was declared a tax-free zone by the
Brazilian government in
1967.
Eletronorte, the local power utility service, had been unable to keep up with the increasing demand and Manaus experienced frequent
blackouts. In
1997, CSI negotiated a thirty million dollar contract to supply power to Manaus.
The
Hoel was chosen as the ship to be used. However, both companies made too optimistic plans. Eletronorte announced that
Hoel would be delivering power within only a few days of its arrival in Manaus. CSI had failed to test the ship's equipment fully before departing for Brazil and failed to appreciate how many repairs the ship's 38-year-old power plant might require. The ship ended up needing weeks of work after its arrival in Brazil before it could begin generating power and numerous repairs after that. Repairs were much more difficult to accomplish in Brazil because the parts and technicians now had to be brought in from CSI's headquarters back in the
United States. Meanwhile, many people in Manaus had become angry over the failed power delivery and there were violent protests.
Hoel was never able to generate more than a quarter of the electricity that had been promised and that only periodically. After a year of failed attempts, Eletronorte cancelled its contract with CSI.
See
USS Hoel for other ships of the same name.
*
history.navy.mil: USS Hoel*
navsource.org: USS Hoel*
hazegray.org: USS Hoel
