USNS Sioux (T-ATF-171)
USNS Sioux (T-ATF-171) is a United States Navy Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug in service since 1981.
.jpg.webp) USNS Sioux (T-ATF-171) entering Yokosuka Naval Base, 1984 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | USNS Sioux |
| Namesake: | The Sioux, a Native American people |
| Builder: | Marinette Marine Corporation, Marinette, Wisconsin |
| Laid down: | 22 March 1979 |
| Launched: | 15 November 1980 |
| Acquired: | 1 May 1981 |
| In service: | 1981 |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 226 ft (69 m) |
| Beam: | 42 ft (13 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Installed power: | 5.73 megawatts (7,680 hp) sustained |
| Propulsion: | 2 × General Motors EMD 20-645F7B diesel engines, two shafts with hydraulic adjustable pitch props ; Brunvoll bow thruster, 224 kW (300 hp) |
| Speed: | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
| Complement: | 16 civilians plus 4 U.S. Navy personnel (communications unit) |
Sioux was laid down on 22 March 1979 by the Marinette Marine Corporation at Marinette, Wisconsin. Launched on 15 November 1980 and delivered to the U.S. Navy on 1 May 1981, Sioux was assigned to the Pacific Fleet of Military Sealift Command (MSC), and placed in non-commissioned service as USNS Sioux (T-ATF-171) in 1981. Although stationed primarily at San Diego, California, Sioux frequently operates from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, San Francisco, California and Bremerton, Washington.
She is scheduled to be inactivated 30 September 2021[1]
Service history
In 2014, Sioux came to the aid of the damaged Royal Canadian Navy vessel HMCS Protecteur which had caught fire off Hawaii. After receiving aid from USN vessels Michael Murphy and Chosin, Sioux arrived to take the vessel under tow. The tug brought the damaged ship into Pearl Harbor safely. For that mission, Sioux was awarded a Canadian Forces Unit Commendation in June 2015.[2]
References
- "Navy Will Inactivate 9 Ships in 2021". Seapower.
- Pugliese, David (16 June 2015). "United States Naval Ship Sioux receives Canadian Forces commendation for assisting fire-damaged HMCS Protecteur". Defence Watch. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- 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.
