USNS ''Benjamin Isherwood'' (T-AO-191) was a

fleet replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. She was never completed.

Construction

''Benjamin Isherwood'', the fifth ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class ship, was laid down by the Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Company in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, on 12 July 1986. Her construction encountered numerous problems. Although she was launched on 15 August 1988, her construction contract with Pennsylvania Shipbuilding was cancelled on 31 August 1989. Along with her unfinished sister ship , the incomplete ''Benjamin Isherwood'' was towed to the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

in Philadelphia on 27 October 1989 for lay-up. A new contract to complete ''Benjamin Isherwood'' was awarded on 16 November 1989 to the

Tampa Shipbuilding Company Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was one of a number of shipyards in Tampa, Florida. It operated from 1917 to after World War II, closing in 1947. History Origins Originally Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, founded in 1917, the y ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. She was towed from Philadelphia to Tampa. She was christened there on 7 December 1991. However, construction problems continued, and that contract also was cancelled, on 15 August 1993, when the ship was 95.3 percent complete. Cost overruns had run into the millions of U.S. dollars.

Reserve

The Navy decided that completion of ''Benjamin Isherwood'' as an oiler was no longer necessary, and considered converting her into an

ammunition ship An ammunition ship is an auxiliary ship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for naval ships and aircraft. An ammunition ship's cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks bet ...

, but the conversion was found to be cost-prohibitive. Instead, the nearly complete ''Benjamin Isherwood'' was turned over to the Maritime Administration and towed up the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where she was placed in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

as part of the

James River Reserve Fleet The James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) is located on the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia at () near Fort Eustis. James River Reserve Fleet, a "ghost fleet,", is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The Reserve Fleet ships in s ...

Lee Hall, Virginia Lee Hall is an unincorporated town located in the extreme western portion of the independent city of Newport News in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. History Lee Hall, located in the former Warwick County, was named for nearb ...

. She was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 29 December 1997, and her title was transferred to the Maritime Administration on 1 February 1999. She and ''Henry Eckford'' were the only units of the 18-ship ''Henry J. Kaiser'' class not completed.

Scrapping

On 12 July 2011, the ''Benjamin Isherwood'' departed for

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, to be recycled by International Shipbreaking Limited.marinelink.com Ex-USNS Vessels to Depart for Texas
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin Isherwood (T-AO-191) Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers Ships built in Philadelphia Ships built in Tampa, Florida Cancelled ships of the United States Navy 1988 ships James River Reserve Fleet