Glomar Explorer

History
NameGSF Explorer
OwnerGlobal Marine Development
OperatorCentral Intelligence Agency
Port of registryPort Vila, Vanuatu
Builder
Cost>$350 million (1974) (>$1.68 billion in 2023 dollars.)
Laid down1971
Launched4 November 1972
Completed1974
Acquired2010
Identification
FateScrapped
Notes
United States
NameHughes Glomar Explorer
NamesakeHoward Hughes
BuilderSun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company
Launched4 November 1972
In service1 July 1973
FateScrapped, 2015
Notes
General characteristics
TypeDrillship
Displacement50,500 long tons (51,310 t) light
Length619 ft (189 m)
Beam116 ft (35 m)
Draft38 ft (12 m)
Propulsion
  • Diesel-electric
  • 5 × Nordberg 16-cylinder diesel engines driving 4,160 V AC generators turning 6 × 2,200 hp (1.6 MW) DC shaft motors, twin shafts
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement160
Notes

GSF Explorer, formerly USNS Hughes Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193), was a deep-sea drillship platform built for Project Azorian, the secret 1974 effort by the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division to recover the Soviet submarine K-129.