Stena had originally chartered the vessel to operate for the British Ministry of Defense but that fell through during the construction delays. The vessel, which is 600 feet long, had started construction in 1997, but due to problems with the shipyard did not enter service until 2004. The platform was never added and by earlier this year, Blue Origin confirmed that plans for the vessel had been abandoned without providing a reason. The vessel was to have been autonomous and able to operate in seas up to 20 feet for the recovery and return mission of the first-stage rockets. Jacklyn preparing for her final departure (Port of Pensacola photos)īlue Origin planned to convert the ship with the addition of a giant platform to land its orbital rocket New Glenn on its return to earth after launch. The Port of Pensacola says extensive progress was made on the conversion. Externally the stern ramp was removed from the vessel and some other changes took place while the port says that teams of over 100 people at times worked aboard the vessel. She was renamed while at the port as the Jacklyn in December 2020 in honor of Bezos’ mother. Observers point out that other than a high-profile christening ceremony, little visible work proceeded on the vessel. Blue Origin had planned to move the vessel to another location to complete the work. The plan called for the vessel to undergo maintenance and repairs in the port as well as the first stage of the modification process. The Port of Pensacola reports that they were approached about the vessel docking at the port three years ago for up to about one year. The 10,000 dwt ro/ro cargo ship named Stena Freighter was sold to Bezos in August 2018. Instead of the grand vision of converting the former Stena vessel into an autonomous Landing Platform Vessel, she however left the port on the end of a towline bound for the scrapyards in Brownsville, Texas. The former ro-ro acquired four years ago by Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin left the Port of Pensacola yesterday for her final voyage.
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