Only two of the four cable ships available for Project Caesar had been designed and built as cable ships, the others being conversions and lacking some critical features needed for cable operations. The larger and were not suitable for modernization while "Albert J. Myer" and "Neptune" had cable ship features, including deeper draft than the larger ships, that made them suitable candidates for modernization. "Albert J. Myer" and "Neptune" were extensively modernized in 1980 by Bethlehem Steel in Baltimore, Maryland. This included new turbo-electric engines replacing two Skinner Uniflow Reciprocating Steam Engines and modern cable machinery. The two ships had been the last ships in the Navy to operate using reciprocating steam engines.