The fifth USNS ''Potomac'' (T-AO-181) was a

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 ...

oiler in non-commissioned service with the

Military Sea Transportation Service 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 ...

, later Military Sealift Command, from 1976 to 1983. ''Potomac'', sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name, was laid down as SS ''Shenandoah'' at Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Chester,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on 1 March 1964 and launched on 10 October 1964. She was built using the 200-foot (61 m) salvaged stern section of the oiler USNS ''Potomac'' (T-AO-150)—a ship which had been destroyed by a fire on 26 September 1961—to which a new forward section was added. She was the first ship equipped with an offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS), allowing her to supply petroleum products to forces ashore by pumping it directly over the shore instead of having to deliver it in a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

. The U.S. Navy acquired ''Shenandoah'' on 10 October 1964, and delivered her to

Keystone Shipping Company Keystone Shipping Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a major shipping and transportation company. Keystone Shipping Company operates a fleet of ships for both dry bulk cargo and tankers. Since World War I, the Keystone Shipping Company ha ...

on 11 December 1965. Keystone Shipping then chartered the ship to the Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), which later became the Military Sealift Command (MSC), on a

bareboat A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible f ...

basis, with Keystone Shipping providing the ship and MSTS providing crew and operating expenses. ''Shenandoah'' operated with a

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

crew in this manner until the MSC purchased her on 12 January 1976. The Navy then designated the ship T-AO-181 and renamed her USNS ''Potomac'', making her the sixth U.S. Navy ship of the name. In MSC service, ''Potomac'' continued to operate with a civilian crew. The oiler transported bulk

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

products to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

armed forces deployed overseas in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, and on 30 September 1978 was reclassified as a

transport oiler Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

and redesignated T-AOT-181. On 26 September 1983, ''Potomac'' was taken out of MSC service and on 4 March 1984 she was transferred to the

Ready Reserve Force 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 ...

(RRF), becoming SS ''Potomac''. In 1990, ''Potomac'', operated by Bay Ship Management, owned by the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

, and under charter to the Navy, was transferred to the

Maritime Prepositioning Force Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States Military Sealift Command's (MSC) prepositioning program. There are currently 17 ships in the program, strategically positioned around the world to support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Cor ...

(MPF) and spent more than 10 years stationed at

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a disputed overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarised atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of the 60 small islands of ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. During this time she participated in sorties, exercises, and training activities, assisted in a humanitarian food relief effort for Rwanda, assisted forces in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, and earned the U.S. Navy's "E" for excellence ship award during

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

exercises in the Indian Ocean. SS ''Potomac'' left Diego Garcia and the MPF in 2000 and was transferred back to the RRF. She was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up 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 ...

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In 2006 she was downrated from the Ready Reserve Force and placed in the

. She left the Beaumont reserve fleet for scrapping in Brownsville, Texas in September 2012.

References

* (See USNS Potomac (T-AO-150) entry.) * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potomac (T-AO-181) Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Texas Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company 1964 ships Unique oilers and tankers of the United States Navy

See also

References

External links