USS ''Competent'' (AFDM-6), (former ''YFD-62''), was an ''AFDM-3''-class floating dry dock built in 1943 and operated by 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 ...

Construction and career

''YFD-62''

Auxiliary floating drydock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the floating dry dock, r ...

was built at the Everett Pacific Shipbuilding Shipyard, in Everett,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

in 1944. She was commissioned in June 1944. In 1945, the dry dock was re-designated as AFDM-6. In 1968, USS Wandank (ATA-204) performed island survey duties in the Western Carolinas and subsequently helped to search for ''AFDM-6'' which had broken loose from her civilian tow vessel. USS Carpenter (DD-825) while steaming towards Subic Bay that day, the crew discovered several leaks in the ship's hull. Moving immediately into dry dock ''AFDM-6'' at Subic Bay, the rusted plating was repaired by work crews and Carpenter returned to Yankee Station on 5 November 1971. In 1972, the USS Higbee (DDR-806) was dry docked after being the first ship to be bombed during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. From 14 to 22 August 1975,

USS Bronstein (FF-1037) USS ''Bronstein'' (FF-1037) was the lead ship of her class in the United States Navy. She was named in honor of Assistant Surgeon Ben Richard Bronstein, who was killed in action on 28 February 1942 when was sunk by a German U-boat off Cape Ma ...

returned to Subic Bay to have a hole in her shaft repaired while on the blocks in ''AFDM-6''. In 1979, she as given the name ''Competent''. On 16 February 1981,

USS Barbel (SS-580) USS ''Barbel'' (SS-580) was the lead ship of her class of submarines in the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for the barbel, a cyprinoid fish, commonly called a minnow or carp. The contract to build ''Barbel'' was awar ...

moved into ''Competent'' at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

for a two-week drydock period. On 16 January 1984,

USS Aspro (SSN-648) USS ''Aspro'' (SSN-648) was a launched in 1969 and decommissioned in 1995. Scrapping was completed in 2000. It was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Zingel, aspro, a fish of the ''Zingel'' genus found abundantly in ...

entered the floating drydock ''Competent'' for a restricted availability.

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) USS ''Los Angeles'' (SSN-688), lead ship of her class of submarines, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Los Angeles, California. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Compan ...

was dry docked from 9 May until 1 July 1986. From 20 May until 24 June 1987, the USS Bremerton (SSN-698) underwent dry docking inside ''Competent''. On 1 March 1988, Los Angeles was again dry docked for Selected Restricted Availability and undocked on 11 May. Bremerton started the year 1995 in drydock aboard the ''Competent''. She was decommissioned in August 1997 and later stricken from the

Naval Register 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 21 August. The dry dock was donated to a private company to be used in

Kalaeloa Kalaeloa () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 2,364 at the 2020 census. The community occupies the location of the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point, which was closed in 1999 an ...

. LAter sold to PT Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line to be operated in Batam,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Awards

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * National Defense Service Medal * Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation * Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (6 awards)

References

External links

NavSource: AFDM-6Naval Vessel Register: Competent (AFDM-6)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Competent (AFDM-6) World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Floating drydocks of the United States Navy 1944 ships Ships built in Everett, Washington