Historical Narrative

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USS Hassayampa was a U.S. Navy fleet oiler laid down at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, in Camden, New Jersey on July 13, 1953.  The ship was launched on September 12, 1954 and commissioned on April 15, 1955. 

Hassayampa operated out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  During the Tonkin Gulf crisis in August 1964, Hassayampa provided at-sea logistics support for the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet.  After returning to Pearl Harbor on December 16, 1965 it served as a recovery logistic ship during the Gemini 8 and Gemini 9 space missions in 1965 and 1966.  Hassayampa supported the Seventh Fleet once again off Southeast Asia in 1968 and 1969. 

The ship was decommissioned on November 17, 1978, transferred to the Navy’s Military Sealift Command and designated USNS Hassayampa (T-AO-145).  After conversion, the ship embarked on a distinguished 12 and a half-year career serving the Navy around the world, including providing underway replenishments during Operations DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM in 1990 and 1991. 

On Novembe 14, 1991, the Navy deactivated Hassayampa and placed it in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, under a reimbursable custody agreement.  On May, 1, 1999, the Navy transferred title for the ship to the Maritime Administration. 

The ship is currently laid up at the Maritime Administration’s Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, California awaiting final disposition.

Vessel Name History

HASSAYAMPA (AO-145/T-AO-145)