USNS Kawishiwi (T-AO 146)

- formerly AO 146 -
- decommissioned -

USNS KAWISHIWI was the fourth NEOSHO - class fleet oiler. The ship transfered to the Military Sealift Command on October 10, 1979. Decommissioned in 1992, the KAWISHIWI was stricken from the Navy list on November 7, 1994, and was subsequently berthed with the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Benicia, Calif., awaiting final disposal. Sold for scrapping to International Shipbreaking Ltd., of Brownsville, Tx., in April 2014, the ship was towed to Mare Island, Vallejo, Calif., for cleaning in May 2014. KAWISHIWI left Mare Island under tow for Brownsville on June 27, 2014, and arrived in Texas on August 6, 2014.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: January 28, 1952
	Keel laid: October 5, 1953
	Launched: December 11, 1954
	Commissioned: July 6, 1955
	Decommissioned: October 10, 1979
	MSC "in service": October 10, 1979
	Decommissioned: 1992
	Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ
	Propulsion system: two boilers
	Propellers: two
	Length: 654.8 feet (199.6 meters)
	Beam: 86 feet (26.2 meters)
	Draft: 35.1 feet (10.7 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 37,000 tons
	Speed: 20 knots
	Capacity: approx. 28,700 tons of fuel
	Aircraft: none
	Armament: none
	Crew: 125 civilians, 21 Navy personnel

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USNS KAWISHIWI. 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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Click here to see which USNS KAWISHIWI memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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Accidents aboard USS / USNS KAWISHIWI:

Date	Where	Events
1959	Pacific	USS LEXINGTON (CVA 16) and USS KAWISHIWI collide during an underway replenishment. Both ships suffer light damage. The photos below are from LEXINGTON's Far Eastern Cruise Book 1959 and show the extend of damage aboard the carrier.
April 5, 1966		The USS ALAMO (LSD 33) and the USS KAWISHIWI collide during underway replenishment at sea.
February 5, 1970	Pacific	During an underway replenishment with the USS DENVER (LPD 9) and the USS MONTICELLO (LSD 35), the MONTICELLO made contact with the KAWISHIWI while approaching her starboard side. DENVER executed emergency breakaway procedures and no personnel or material casualties resulted on DENVER. The KAWISHIWI and MONTICELLO both received minor damage, but both ships were left capable of carrying out assigned missions and no personnel were injured. Underway replenishment was resumed after a short delay and completed without further incident. The Commanding Officer of the DENVER was directed to conduct an informal investigation of the incident by Commander, Amphibious Squadron Seven.

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USS / USNS KAWISHIWI Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the KAWISHIWI laid-up in Suisun Bay, Calif., on March 27, 2010.

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