U.S. forces were in Somalia to try to capture powerful Somali warlord Mohammed Aidid from his stronghold in the war-torn capital and take him to a ship anchored off the nearby coast.

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He saw the ship as a metaphor for the nation's post-war strength, pride and accomplishment.

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From that third country, Whitman said, the containers were loaded onto the SS Gopher State, a U.S.-owned crane ship normally used to haul equipment in and out of war zones.

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The 2, 200-passenger liner also was meant to double as a troop transport ship if war broke out.

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Around 80% of the ship is original and it has what are thought to be the only surviving in-situ World War I turbines in the world.

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