Orca (XI)

George Schneider stated "Another passerby was the push boat BERNICE LIND (601671) pushing the crane barge GRETAJEAN LIND. I've covered her before, but she's still a mystery. She's one of four ex-Navy pushboats, numbered 54NS811 through -814. I can't find any real explanation for these boats. The Navy says they were built 1978-1979 at National Steel in San Diego, but NASSCO doesn't claim them, and there's no place for them in the company's numbering list. Because of their beam, I'm wondering if they're LCM-8 conversions. The Navy's first record of them is that in 1988 the Naval Air Station at Subic Bay, Philippines, received them from the Military Sealift Command. "