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MV Cape Texas (T-AKR 112)

MV Cape Texas at Bremerhaven, Germany, on October 7, 2023. Photo by Thoralf Doehring.

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MV CAPE TEXAS was originally built as MV REICHENFELS at Kiel, Germany, in 1977 and operated for DDG Hansa Line. Lykes Lines purchased the ship in 1981 and renamed it MV LYRA. In early 1993, the US Government bought LYRA and she entered Military Sealift Command service as USNS LYRA. Shortly afterwards, she was renamed MV CAPE TEXAS and transferred to the MARAD Ready Reserve Force on August 19, 1994. The ship is presently homeported in Beaumont, Tx., capable of being fully activated within 5 days.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard MV CAPE TEXAS. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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MV CAPE TEXAS History:

MV CAPE TEXAS began life as the German RO/RO REICHENFELS, launched at Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel, on June 16, 1977, for DDG Hansa's Europe-Persian Gulf trade. After DDG Hansa's bankruptcy, she was sold to Lykes Lines in 1981 and renamed LYRA, trading trans-Atlantic with a characteristic con-ro arrangement - stern ramp and vast vehicle decks below, with container slots topside for flexibility. The U.S. Government purchased the ship amid the post-Cold War sealift expansion in 1992 and formally acquired her on January 21, 1993, using her briefly in Military Sealift Command service as USNS LYRA before moving her to the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force (RRF) at Houston and renaming her CAPE TEXAS on August 19, 1994. In RRF status she settled into ROS-5 readiness - kept warm by a nucleus crew and able to activate within five days - homeported at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet on the Sabine-Neches waterway, close to Army outload nodes.

The ship's first major activation coincided with the ground buildup for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Activated on January 23, 2003, CAPE TEXAS proceeded to Corpus Christi, Texas, loaded Army vehicles and rolling stock, and joined the surge flow east. By March 2003, she was recorded in the eastern Mediterranean, one link in the heavy-lift chain feeding Kuwait's ports for the campaign that opened on March 20, 2003. After discharge and backhaul she stood down to reserve on May 2, 2003. She reactivated again on December 26, 2004 for continuing OIF logistics, including Gulf shuttle runs that year placed her in the Kuwait port complex. Deactivation followed on April 7, 2005, with return to her Houston/Beaumont lay berth.

Through the late 2000s and early 2010s, CAPE TEXAS cycled between reserve status at Beaumont and periodic activations for exercises and cargo trials, keeping crews sharp on marine evacuation systems, ballast and cargo gear, and ramp angles for heavy vehicles. Port calls during activations typically traced the logistics spine from Beaumont/Houston and Corpus Christi to outload or staging hubs, then onward to theaters or exercise ports. When in reserve, the ship rode at the Beaumont berths with regular material surveys and regulatory checks to preserve class and readiness. Her design - ice-strengthened hull, approx. 88,000 square feet of vehicle space, container slots, and a high-capacity stern ramp - kept her useful across climates and pier standards.

A visible European run came with renewed U.S. and NATO focus on deterrence and reinforcement. Arriving from Charleston, South Carolina, CAPE TEXAS moored in Bremerhaven's Kaiserhafen in Germany on October 7, 2023, after discharging a consignment of military vehicles - an evolution in line with the ongoing movement of U.S. equipment to European reception terminals. The call echoed her German origins (and the sisterships CAPE TAYLOR and CAPE TRINITY, both ex-"FELS" - class con-ros), and underscored the RRF's role as a quickly taskable pool that supplements prepositioned afloat stocks. She returned to Bremerhaven again on February 3, 2025, before rotating back to lay status. As of March 4, 2025, MARAD inventory still lists CAPE TEXAS at the Port of Beaumont in RRF service.

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MV CAPE TEXAS Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the MV CAPE TEXAS arriving at Bremerhaven, Germany, on October 7, 2023.

The photos below were taken by me and show the MV CAPE TEXAS at Bremerhaven, Germany, on February 3, 2025.

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