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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

SS Bellatrix (AKR-288)
ex
 USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) (1982 - 2007)
 USNS Bellatrix (T-AK-288) (1981 - 1982)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Lima - Lima
 NHLL
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
National Defense Service Medal - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Algol Class Fast Sealift Ship (Roll-on/Roll-off Vehicle Cargo Ship):
  • Laid down, date unknown, as SS Sea-Land Trade at Rheinstahal Nordseewerke, Emden, Germany
  • Launched, 1 February 1973
  • Delivered to Sea-Land Steamship Co., 1 April 1973
  • Acquired by the US Navy in 1981
  • Assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC)
  • Placed in service as Cargo Ship USNS Bellatrix (T-AK-288), date unknown
  • Redesignated Roll-on/Roll-off Vehicle Cargo Ship (T-AKR-288), September 1982
  • USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) was one of the eight Fast Sealift Ships in the Surge Force, assigned to MSC Atlantic
  • Bellatrix was returned to MARAD custody in 5-day RRF status (ROS-5), 1 October 2007, laid up in a berth at Marrero, LA.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 29,692 t.(lt) 61,987 t.(fl)
    Length 947'
    Beam 106'
    Draft 37'
    Speed 33 kts.
    Complement 43 civilian mariners
    Armament none
    Propulsion
    two Foster-Wheeler boilers, 875 psi (61.6kg/cm2), 950°F (510°C)
    two General Electric MST-19 steam turbines
    twin propellers 120,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Commercial Service
    Bellatrix 438k SS Sea-Land Trade berthed at Yokohama, Japan in November 1980. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288)
    Bellatrix
    100200320    		 59k
    Namesake
    Bellatrix - A bluish-white giant star located 250 light years away in the constellation of Orion, where it marks the giant’s western “shoulder”. It is the 3rd brightest star in Orion, with an apparent magnitudes of 1.64, but only the 27th most luminous star in the night sky. Its location close to the sky’s 10th brightest star, an enormous red giant called Betelgeuse, makes it one of the easiest stars to recognize, with Bellatrix best seen in December and January.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Bellatrix 1846k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) underway, 13 July 1984.
    Department of Defense photo # DN-SC-85-10732 (13 July 1984), a US Navy photo by Kim Lee, now in the collections of Defense Imagery.mil     		Robert M. Cieri
    Bellatrix 45k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) berthed at New Orleans, LA. in October 1984. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Bellatrix 1154k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) moored at Genoa, Italy, 4 September 1988. Photo by Photos by Carlo Martinelli
    Bellatrix 1055k
    Bellatrix 233k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) in New York Harbor, date unknown. MSC web site
    Bellatrix 66k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) at anchor in the Bay of Gibraltar 29 September 1995 Photo by Daniel Ferro
    Bellatrix 69k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) underway, date and location unknown. Photo by Peter Westdijk the Netherlands
    Bellatrix
    09540229414    		 175k USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) and three commercial tankers transit the Suez Canal, Egypt, 17 August 1990. Bellatrix is transporting equipment to Saudi Arabia in support of "Operation Desert Shield"
    US National Archives and Records Administration Identifier NAID: 6466407. US Defense Department photo # DN-ST-91-00391 by PH1 Allen.    		 Robert Hurst
    Bellatrix
    09540229415    		 112k Tugboats assisting USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) into the port of Mina Ash-Shu'aibah, Kuwait, 26 February 2004.
    U.S. Navy photo # 040226-N-0743B-005 and 40226-N-0743B-026" by JO3 Eric L. Beauregard.    		 Robert Hurst
    Bellatrix
    09540229416    		 171k
    Bellatrix
    09540229413    		 243k An aerial view of the port of Ash Shuaybah, Kuwait, 1 March 2004. Two U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) supply ships are shown moored at the facility. In the forground is USNS Antares (T-AKR-294). In background is USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288).
    U.S. Navy photos # 040301-N-0743B-028 by JO3 Eric L. Beauregard.    		 Robert Hurst
    Bellatrix
    0954028810    		 171k A U.S. Marine M-977 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) and other Marine vehicles are unloaded from the USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR-288) at the port of Mina Ash-Shu'aibah, Kuwait, 26 February 2004, in support of troop rotations in Iraq.
    U.S. Navy photo # 040226-N-0743B-047 by JO3 Eric L. Beauregard.    		 Robert Hurst
    SS Bellatrix (AKR-288) - MARAD RRF
    Bellatrix 192k SS Bellatrix (AKR-288) moored outboard of SS Altair (AKR-291) in their layberth at Marrero, LA., 4 August 2013. Photo by Christopher Holley
    There is no DANFS history available for USNS Bellatrix (T-AK-288 / T-AKR-288) at Navsource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 14 November 2025