USNS ''Kanawha'' (T-AO-196) is a
''Henry J. Kaiser''-class fleet replenishment oiler of the
United States Navy in non-commissioned service in the
Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
.
USNS ''Kanawha'', the tenth ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class ship, was laid down by the
Avondale Shipyards in
New Orleans,
Louisiana, on 13 July 1989. She was launched on 22 September 1990 and delivered to the U.S. Navy and placed in non-commissioned service with the Military Sealift Command on 6 December 1991.
''Kanawha'' is in active service with the Military Sealift Command
Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force and is assigned to the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
.
Design
The
''Henry J. Kaiser''-class oilers were preceded by the shorter
''Cimarron''-class fleet replenishment oilers. ''Kanawha'' has an overall length of . It has a
beam of and a
draft of . The oiler has a displacement of at full load. It has a capacity of of aviation fuel or fuel oil. It can carry a dry load of and can refrigerate 128 pallets of food. The ship is powered by two 10 PC4.2 V 570 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines that drive two shafts; this gives a power of .
The ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class oilers have maximum speeds of . They were built without armaments but can be fitted with
close-in weapon systems. The ship has a helicopter platform but not any maintenance facilities. It is fitted with five fuelling stations; these can fill two ships at the same time and the ship is capable of pumping of diesel or of jet fuel per hour. It has a complement of eighty-nine civilians (nineteen officers), twenty-nine spare crew, and six United States Navy crew.
Collision
On November 18, 2010, USNS ''Kanawha'' "briefly came into contact" with of the
Royal Canadian Navy during a replenishment-at-sea manoeuvre off the coast of Florida.
There were no injuries, but both ships suffered "superficial" damage consisting of scrapes and dents on both hulls.
References
*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive T-AO-196 ''Kanawha''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanawha (T-AO-196)
Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers
Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
1990 ships