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I was on the delivery crew when the ship, built in Gulfport, Mississippi, by the Halter Marine Group, was delivered to Alaska. As a crew member on the maiden voyage in 1998, I am what is known as a "plank owner". Historically, when a ship was finally "scrapped" for parts, anyone who was on the maiden voyage of the ship that was finally scrapped, received a percentage of the money made from the remnants of the ship as it was sold off and parted out. If the sailor (the Plank Owner) who had sailed on that maiden voyage was no longer living, the money went to his family. And so, I "own the plank" of the M/V Kennicott, and it was I and my watch partner who first fired up the main engines to begin our voyage North, to Alaska! A cool distinction, and one I am proud of...