The following is the text of a news release from Crowley Maritime Corp.:
(NORFOLK, Va.) — Crowley Maritime Corp.’s Invader-class tug Monitor recently towed the 33-year-old, ex-USS Taylor (FFG 50) from Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to Detyens Shipyard in Charleston, S.C., where the vessel will be converted in preparation for delivery to the Taiwanese government as part of the U.S. foreign military sales program.
Taylor, named for Cmdr. Jesse Taylor, a naval aviator who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism in the Vietnam War, was decommissioned at Mayport, Fla., in 2015, where it had been home-ported since 1993. During its service, Taylor made six extended deployments: with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Standing Naval Force Atlantic in 1987; to the Arabian Gulf in 1988; in 1990 as part of Operations Desert Shield; in 1992 as part of Operation Southern Watch; in 1994 to the Mediterranean and Red seas, and in 1997 and 2002 with NATO's Standing Naval Force Mediterranean.
Crowley's government services group was awarded the contract by VSE Corp. for the tow, which marked the latest in Crowley’s history of ocean towing projects spanning over half a century. Monitor, connected to the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate by a series of tow ropes and chains, departed Philadelphia under the care and direction of its eight-man crew: Capt. Steve Sears; Jermain Williams, chief mate; Steven Tonn, second mate; deck utility men Mario Del Morante, Hubert Joseph, and Bob Woote; Yosluvy Baro-Laza, engine utility, and Connor McDaniel, deck cadet.
For more information, visit www.crowley.com/government.
