These tugs were specifically designed for salvage operations and are capable of (1) Ocean towing  (2) Supporting diving operations to depths of 850 feet  (3) Lifting submerged objects weighing as much as 600, 000 pounds  (4)  Fighting ship fires  (5)  Performing general salvage operations..  They displace 3125 tons at full load   Dimensions:   232ft. LOA, 50 ft beam,14.5 draft  They are powered by 4 Paxman YLCM main engines with twin variable pitch shafts and Bow thruster.  The main Towing winch was inside the deck house.  The main wire was 2 1/2 in plow steel wire.  These ships were all built in Lowestoft England.  ATS 2 and 3 were homeported in Pearl Harbor.   ATS 1 was homeported in Norlfolk  Ed. note:  The Webmaster rode the Beaufort from Sasebo to Pearl Harbor as a tech. rep. in 1977.  Great ship!                          

Ship	Launched	Disposition
Edenton (ATS 1)	15 May 1968	Transferred to US Coast Guard in 1997.   Renamed USCG  Alex Haley (WMEC 39)
Beaufort (ATS 2)	20 Dec 1968	Decommissioned 8 Mar 96.  Sold to South Korea 29 Aug 96
Brunswick (ATS 3)	4 Oct 1969	Decommissioned 8 Mar 96.  Sold to South Korea 29 Aug 96