USS LST-987 - in Commercial Service

In Commercial Service

In August 1961 she was sold to the German Navy for conversion into a battle damage repair ship (ARB). However, this conversion was never undertaken and she never saw commissioned service in the Bundesmarine. Struck from the German Naval List in early 1968, she was sold for scrap in November of that year.

Sold again in 1972 to Zandzuig & Transportbedrijf H.G. & G.D. Blomberg B. V. of Berkel en Rodenrijs, The Netherlands, flagged Panamanian. On 22 September 1972 she was docked on the railway at "de Merwede" shipyard in The Netherlands and conversion to trailing suction hopper dredge commenced. She was renamed Esperance III and subsequently dredged gravel in the North Sea. Resold in 1978 to Cdeco Maritime Construction Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware, she was reflagged U.S. Sold again in 1980 to American International Dredge Corporation. The vessel was resold in 1986 to B & B Dredging Corporation of Crystal River, Florida and renamed Columbus. She was sold again in 1996 to Proteus Co., Chicago, Illinois and is currently operated by B+B Dredging Company of Chicago, Illinois. She primarily performs maintenance dredging of federal navigation channels for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Renamed Columbia in 2002. Sold to The Dutra Group of San Rafael, California in December 2009.