USS Queens

USTS Texas Clipper, a 473 foot long ship, served as a merchant marine training vessel with the Texas Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston for 30 years beginning in 1965. Her name is reflective of clipper ships of old, both designed with a characteristic rounded stern. Prior to her service as a training vessel, Texas Clipper had served in World War II as an attack transport vessel named USS Queens. Following the war, in 1948, Queens was converted into the trans-atlantic ocean-liner SS Excambion, a member of the quartet of ships referred to as the post-war "4 Aces" for American Export Lines. Excambion carried passengers and cargo on a regular sailing route from New York to various Mediterranean ports. Following service as a training ship, the Texas Clipper I was moored at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet from 1996 to 2006. In 2006, Texas Clipper was transferred to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Artificial Reef Program to be turned into an artificial reef. This transfer allowed the ship to not be scrapped.