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History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

CS William A. Glassford
by Bill Glover

CS WILLIAM A. GLASSFORD / NASHAWENA / OMEGA

Built in 1943 by Seattle Ship Building & Dry Docking Co.

Length 155 ft Breadth 37 ft Depth 6.8 ft Gross tonnage 575

Identical to CS Basil O. Lenoir.

Completed as a self propelled barge. Converted for cable work in the shallow waters of the Alaskan coast. Also carried out work in the Philippines. Wooden hulled and capable of carrying 400 tons of cable in two tanks and fitted with three bow sheaves 4 ft 6 in in diameter. A steam driven dual combined paying out-picking up machine built by the Sundfelt company was fitted.

In service with the Army Signal Corps until 1948 during which time she carried out work for the Alaskan Communication System. Transferred to the US Navy in 1948 and renamed Nashawena. Put on the reserve list in 1952.

In 1959 a tunny fishing company bought the vessel, renamed it Omega, and put it up for charter as a cable ship. Bought by the United States Underseas Cable Corporation in 1961. Owned by Hydospace Services Inc., a subsidiary of Underseas and used on the Autec Range (Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre).

Sold once again in 1971 to International Marine Operations Inc., a Liberian registered company set up by ITT to purchase Neptun (3) and Omega. Omega was sold out of the cable world in 1973.

Scrapped 1975?


Cableships Index Page

Last revised: 9 August, 2011

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