TS GOLDEN BEAR
July 7, 2023 | Vallejo, California
TS Golden Bear returned to Cal Maritime in Vallejo, California, on July 7, 2023, following her summer training cruise across the Pacific. The cruise included Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Apia, Hilo and Astoria, along with a Golden Shellback crossing at the Equator and 180th meridian. My son was aboard for his first training cruise as a Cal Maritime cadet.
TS Golden Bear was photographed returning to Cal Maritime in Vallejo, California, on July 7, 2023, after her summer training cruise across the Pacific. The cruise brought together extended passages at sea, practical instruction and port calls in Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Apia in Samoa, Hilo in Hawaii and Astoria in Oregon. Her arrival back at the academy marked the conclusion of the ocean voyage, with the Summer Sea Term formally ending the following day.
For our family, this return had particular significance. My son was aboard Golden Bear for his first training cruise as a cadet at California State University Maritime Academy. During two months away from Vallejo, the ship served as both a home and a working classroom, where cadets put their academic studies into practice. The cruise also included a crossing where the Equator meets the 180th meridian, commemorated aboard through the maritime tradition of the Golden Shellback.
The ship herself had already experienced two distinct careers. Built for the U.S. Navy as the oceanographic survey vessel USNS Maury, she entered service in 1989 before being adapted for maritime education. Transferred to Cal Maritime in 1996, she became the academy’s third ship named Golden Bear. By the summer of 2023, her classrooms, machinery spaces and working decks had supported generations of cadets preparing for careers at sea.
Information List
Name: TS Golden Bear
Former Name: USNS Maury (T-AGS-39)
Owner: U.S. Maritime Administration
Operator in 2023: California State University Maritime Academy — Cal Maritime
Type: Maritime training ship; former oceanographic survey vessel
Builder: Bethlehem Steel, United States
Laid Down: July 29, 1986
Launched: September 4, 1987
Entered Navy Service: March 31, 1989
Transferred to Cal Maritime: May 4, 1996
Length Overall: 499 feet 10 inches / 152.35 meters
Beam: 72 feet / 21.95 meters
Gross Tonnage: 12,517 GT
Propulsion: Twin diesel engines driving a single propeller
Homeport: Vallejo, California
Gallery Date: July 7, 2023
Gallery Context: Return from the 2023 summer training cruise
History and Features
Construction and Navy Service:
The ship was built by Bethlehem Steel in the United States, with her keel laid on July 29, 1986.
Launched on September 4, 1987, she was delivered to the Navy and placed in service on March 31, 1989.
Under the name USNS Maury, her original work involved hydrographic and oceanographic surveying, including mapping the ocean floor.
Her broad hull and substantial superstructure were designed around the requirements of a working survey vessel rather than passenger cruising.
Conversion to a Training Ship:
After leaving Navy service in 1994, Maury passed to the U.S. Maritime Administration.
Changes to her living spaces prepared the vessel for a new role carrying and training maritime-academy cadets.
She transferred to California Maritime Academy on May 4, 1996, becoming TS Golden Bear.
The conversion gave an existing government vessel a new purpose, combining oceangoing capability with accommodation and instructional spaces.
The Golden Bear Tradition:
This vessel was the fourth major training ship used by the academy and the third to carry the name Golden Bear.
The academy’s first training vessel entered service in 1931 as California State, later renamed Golden State.
Earlier ships named Golden Bear served from 1946 to 1971 and from 1971 to 1995.
By July 2023, the third Golden Bear had been part of Cal Maritime’s training program for 27 years.
A Working Classroom at Sea:
Summer Sea Term gives cadets an extended period aboard an operating ship, bringing classroom instruction into a practical setting.
Navigation, engineering, maintenance and shipboard routines form part of the experience under licensed faculty officers.
Cadets learn to work within watch schedules and share the responsibilities involved in running an oceangoing vessel.
The combination of instruction and daily ship operations helps develop technical skills, teamwork and leadership.
The 2023 Pacific Training Cruise:
The ship departed Vallejo on May 9, beginning a Pacific cruise that continued into early July.
Calls included Los Angeles and Cabo San Lucas before the route extended into the South Pacific.
Apia, Samoa, and Hilo, Hawaii, formed part of the ocean circuit before the ship returned toward the continental West Coast.
Astoria, Oregon, was the final port listed before the July 7 return to Vallejo.
The Golden Shellback Crossing:
During the cruise, Golden Bear reached the meeting point of the Equator and the 180th meridian.
The academy’s June 11 voyage account described the crossing and the Golden Shellback ceremony held aboard.
This tradition recognizes a particular geographic achievement, beyond simply crossing the Equator elsewhere.
The crossing added a memorable maritime milestone to a cruise already introducing many cadets to extended life at sea.
A Platform for Marine Research:
Alongside cadet training, the 2023 cruise supported a demonstration involving the U.S. Maritime Administration and Collins Aerospace.
The project tested a cooling system that recovered otherwise unused heat from the ship’s diesel generators.
Recovered heat helped operate equipment supplying cooling to a machinery-space workshop.
The ocean passages provided an opportunity to evaluate the system under changing seawater temperatures and normal shipboard operating conditions.
July 7, 2023 — Home to Vallejo:
These photographs show TS Golden Bear returning to Vallejo at the end of her summer Pacific cruise.
The arrival brought the ship back to the academy after two months of training, travel and daily work at sea.
The formal Summer Sea Term concluded on July 8, following the ship’s return.
For our family, July 7 marked the homecoming from my son’s first training cruise as a Cal Maritime cadet.
OLP Social: Returning to Vallejo after two months across the Pacific, the summer training cruise marked the completion of my son’s first sea term as a Cal Maritime cadet.
OLP Social 2: Built by Bethlehem Steel in the United States, she entered Navy service as a survey ship in 1989 before beginning a new career with Cal Maritime in 1996.
OLP Social 3: At nearly 500 feet long, this former Navy survey ship became a floating classroom where cadets gained practical experience in navigation and marine engineering.
OLP Social 4: The 2023 summer route linked Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Apia, Hilo and Astoria, bringing classroom lessons to life during a Pacific training cruise.
