USNS Soderman (T-AKR 299)

- formerly LICA MAERSK -
- Military Sealift Command -
- deactivated -
- later USNS GYSGT FRED W. STOCKHAM (T-AK 3017) -

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Built as commercial container ship LICA MAERSK in Denmark in 1980, the ship was lengthened by Hyundai in 1987 and in the early 1990s, the Navy purchased the LICA MAERSK. The ship subsequently underwent conversion to a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR) at NASSCO and was delivered to the Military Sealift Command in 1997 where the ship entered service as USNS SODERMAN becoming the first ship in the Navy named after US Army Pfc. William A. Soderman. The USNS SODERMAN was operated by Bay Ship Management, Inc. under US Navy Military Sealift Command charter, and was manned by US Merchant Marine personnel.

In May 2000, the SODERMAN transferred to the Maritime Prepositioning Force, converted into a Maritime Prepositioning Force (Enhanced) ship and re-named GYSGT FRED W. STOCKHAM (T-AK 3017). On March 1, 2001, she was reactivated to serve in her new role.

General Characteristics:	Delivered: 1980
	Builder: Lindovaerftet, Odense, Denmark
	Conversion yard: National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif.
	Delivered to MSC: November 11, 1997
	Deactivated: May 2000
	Propulsion system: 1 Burmeister & Wain 12L90 GFCA diesel; 1 shaft; bow and stern thrusters
	Propellers: one
	Length: 908.8 (277 meters)
	Beam: 105.6 feet (32.2 meters)
	Draft: 34.8 feet (10.6 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 54,450 tons full load
	Speed: 24 knots
	Aircraft: helicopter landing area only
	Armament: none
	Capacity: 312,461 sq. ft.
	Crew: 26 civilian crew (up to 45); up to 50 active duty

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USNS SODERMAN. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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About the Ship's Name:

USNS SODERMAN ship is named to honor Pfc. William A. Soderman, USA (1912-1980), a native of West Haven, Connecticut. Pfc. Soderman was assigned to Company K, 9th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division during World War II. On Dec. 17, 1944, Pfc. Soderman defended a key road junction near Rocherath, Belgium. Under severe artillery barrage, mortar and machine gun fire, he remained at his post and successfully held off German counter offenses by disabling three enemy tanks with a bazooka at point blank range before being wounded. Distinguishing himself by conspicuous gallantry and unfaltering courage against overwhelming odds, above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy, President Harry S Truman presented Pfc. Soderman the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House on Oct. 12, 1945.

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USNS SODERMAN History:

The ship that entered U.S. service as USNS SODERMAN (T-AKR 299) originated as the commercial container ship LICA MAERSK (IMO 7825423). She was built at Odense Staalskibsvaerft A/S (Lindoe), Denmark. LICA MAERSK was launched on January 12, 1981, and delivered on March 24, 1981. In 1987, she was lengthened at Hitachi Zosen, Japan, increasing her overall length to about 276.43 meters and substantially raising her tonnage. In October 1993, the ship was sold to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego, California, for eventual employment in U.S. strategic sealift. In the context of the U.S. post-Cold War sealift expansion - driven by requirements identified in a congressionally mandated study in the early 1990s - the Navy and Military Sealift Command (MSC) pursued the Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) program, including conversions of several large commercial container ships.

After conversion work at NASSCO, the vessel was renamed USNS SODERMAN (T-AKR 299) on October 24, 1997, in San Diego as the last of five such commercial-to-LMSR conversion ships intended for MSC operation. She was delivered to the Navy in November 1997, with contemporary planning documents listing November 11, 1997, as the scheduled delivery date. From the outset, the stated concept of operations was to use SODERMAN first to preposition U.S. Army combat support equipment afloat, with a civilian mariner crew under MSC and embarked military "supercargo" personnel to monitor and maintain the equipment, and later to employ her as a surge sealift asset moving military cargo from U.S. ports to overseas destinations.

As of March 18, 1998, Congressional documentation already lists USNS SODERMAN among U.S. military ships making overseas port calls, including a recorded port visit at Malaga, Spain. By mid-1999, as NATO transitioned from Operation Allied Force to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission and the alliance surged logistics into the Balkans, USNS SODERMAN reached Thessaloniki, Greece, on July 3, 1999, transporting U.S. Army vehicles and containers into the theater.

After this initial period in surge sealift employment, SODERMAN was taken out of service in 2000 for conversion into a Maritime Prepositioning Force (Enhanced) ship - reflecting the U.S. preference, after the 1990s' contingency operations, to keep major equipment sets positioned forward so that deploying personnel could "fall in" on pre-staged gear rather than wait for it to arrive from the United States. That conversion culminated in a formal renaming event on July 6, 2001, at Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Florida, when the ship was officially named USNS GYSGT FRED W. STOCKHAM (T-AK 3017).

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