USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187)

This article is about the U.S. Navy oiler. For the entire Henry J. Kaiser class of U.S. Navy fleet replenishment oilers, see Henry J. Kaiser class oiler. For the American industrialist and shipbuilder, see Henry J. Kaiser.
USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) at Hampton Roads, Virginia
History
Name: USNS Henry J. Kaiser
Namesake: Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967)
Awarded: 12 November 1982
Builder: Avondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down: 22 August 1984
Launched: 5 October 1985
In service: 19 December 1986
Status: Full operation
General characteristics
Class and type: Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler
Type: Fleet replenishment oiler
Tonnage: 31,200 DWT
Displacement:
  • 9,500 tons light
  • Full load variously reported as 42,382 tons and 40,700 long tons (41,353 metric tons)
Length: 677 ft (206 m)
Beam: 97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft: 35 ft (11 m) maximum
Installed power:
  • 2 × Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 (2 × 16,000 hp (12 MW))
  • 34,442 hp (25.683 MW) total sustained
Propulsion: Two shafts with controllable pitch propellers
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity:
Complement: 103 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy officer, 64 merchant seamen, 20 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel)
Armament:
  • Peacetime: small arms
  • Wartime: Fully armed Naval Security Team, 2 or more 50 caliber machine guns, 2 x 20-mm Phalanx CIWS
Aviation facilities: Helicopter landing platform
Notes:
  • Eight refueling stations
  • Two dry cargo transfer rigs or CONREP stations

USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) is a United States Navy replenishment oiler and the lead ship of her class. She is operated by Military Sealift Command and therefore has a "USNS" prefix for United States Naval Ship. She is named for Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967), an American industrialist and shipbuilder.

Construction and delivery

Henry J. Kaiser was laid down by Avondale Shipyard, Inc., in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 22 August 1984 and launched on 5 October 1985. She was the lead ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class of fleet replenishment oilers. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service with the Military Sealift Command on 19 December 1986.

Service history

Following delivery, the Henry J. Kaiser operated out of Norfolk, Virginia, as part of the Second Fleet. In 1995, she was forward deployed to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean as part of the pre-positioning fleet. In 2002, she was transferred to the Third Fleet and placed in reduced operating status in Portland, Oregon. She was activated briefly in 2003 when two other oilers were simultaneously undergoing planned maintenance. In 2005, she was re-activated to full service as part of the Third Fleet, where she remains to this day.

Henry J. Kaiser in San Francisco Dry Dock, November 2014

Great Green Fleet

During RIMPAC 2012, Kaiser delivered 900,000 gallons of a 50-50 blend of advanced biofuels and traditional petroleum-based fuel to the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) strike group. The fuel delivery is part of the Navy's Great Green Fleet demonstration, which allows the Navy to test, evaluate and demonstrate the cross-platform utility and functionality of advanced biofuels in an operational setting. This will achieve one of the five energy goals established by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, to demonstrate a Great Green Fleet in local operations by 2012.[1]

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

  1. ↑ "USNS Henry J. Kaiser Delivers Biofuel for RIMPAC's Great Green Fleet Demo". Maritime-executive.com. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
    - "RIMPAC 2012". Cpf.navy.mil. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
    - "USNS Henry J. Kaiser delivers biofuel for RIMPAC's Great Green Fleet demo". Msc.navy.mil. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
    - http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2012/06/mil-120613-nns04.htm
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