_underway_in_December_2014.JPG)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Namesake | César Chávez |
| Awarded | 26 February 2010 |
| Builder | National Steel and Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 9 May 2011 |
| Launched | 5 May 2012 |
| Sponsored by | Helen Chavez |
| In service | 24 October 2012 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | in active service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Lewis and Clark-class cargo ship |
| Displacement | 41,000 tons (41,700 t) |
| Length | 689 ft (210 m) |
| Beam | 105.6 ft (32.2 m) |
| Draft | 29.9 ft (9.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Integrated propulsion and ship service electrical system, with generation at 6.6 kV by FM/MAN B&W diesel generators; one fixed pitch propeller; bow thruster |
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Range | 14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | 49 military, 123 civilian |
| Aircraft carried | two helicopters |
USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14), a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship, is the first ship operated by the United States Navy to be named for Cesar Chavez (1927–1993), labor leader and civil rights activist.[1] Chávez joined the Navy at the age of seventeen in 1944 during World War II, and served for two years.[2]
Cesar Chavez's keel was laid down on 9 May 2011 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego.[3] The ship was launched on 5 May 2012.[4]
