Type C7 ship

The Type C7 ship (Lancer Class) is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for a cargo ship and the first purpose-built container ship. The vessels were constructed in US shipyards and entered service starting in 1968. As US-built ships they are Jones Act qualified for shipments between US domestic ports. Under the Jones Act domestic US maritime trade is restricted to US-built and flagged vessels of US owners and manned by predominantly US-citizen crews. As of 2012 several C7 vessels remain in service and represent the dwindling number of ships which are still steam powered. Four of these vessels are container ships operated by Horizon Lines and four are of the vehicle Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO) configuration held in the Ready Reserve Force, National Defense Reserve Fleet.

United States Lines C7-S-68 Series
Eight Type C7-S-68 ships were built by Sun Shipbuilding for the United States Lines and entered service from 1968 to 1971. Upon the bankruptcy and dissolution of the company the ships were sold to other carriers. The design proved very reliable as all of the Lancer Class vessels operated until at least 2002. As of 2012 two remain in active service.



Pacific Far East Line C7-S-88 Series
San Francisco, CA-based Pacific Far East Line took delivery of two C7-S-88a ships built by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard. All of their ship names ended with Bear. The company however went bankrupt in 1978 and the ships sold to Sea-Land Service, Inc. In 1989 the vessels were modified to class SL18. The domestic liner operations of Sea-Land were sold in 2003 and have since operated under the name Horizon Lines. The name of all their vessels begins with the word Horizon. As of 2012 both of the '88 series ships are in active service.

States Steamship Lines C7-S-95 Series
The States Steamship Lines (or States Lines) ordered four C7-S-95a ships from Bath Iron Works to carry both mixed and containerized cargo. These vessels differed from the earlier C7s in that they have an aft cargo ramp. Their service speed is 23 knots and the States Lines operated the vessels between the US west coast and Asian ports. Their service time with the States Line however was brief as high fuel prices and competition drove the company into bankcuptcy in 1979. The vessels were eventually acquired by the US Government and are among the 27 RO/RO ships in the Military Sealift Command. All are steam powered and maintained in the Ready Reserve Force with 5 days as time to activate.