The SS Chesapeake is a transport oiler that has been in service in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 since 2000.

Construction and commercial service 1964-1987

SS Chesapeake was built by the Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...

 Sparrows Point

Sparrows Point

Sparrows Point is an unincorporated area in Baltimore County, Maryland, adjacent to Dundalk, Maryland. Named for Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelmaking and shipbuilding....

 Yard at Baltimore, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, and delivered to the Hess Shipping Company on 29 October 1964. She entered commercial service with the company as the tanker

Tanker (ship)

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 SS Hess Voyager. She was renamed SS Chesapeake on 22 July 1980 She is a near exact twin to her sister ship SS Petersburg

SS Petersburg (T-AOT-9101)

SS Petersburg is one of Military Sealift Command's six United States of America Government-owned Tankers and is part of the 35 ships in the Prepositioning Program. It is part of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three...

Maritime Administration Ready Reserve Force 1987-2000

The U.S. Maritime Administration relieved Hess Shipping of Chesapeake under an exchange program on 15 December 1987. Chesapeake was then laid up in the Maritime Administrations Ready Reserve Fleet until 2000.

Military Sealift Command Service 2000-present

Chesapeake was activated for service in the Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 in 2000 as a transport oiler. Interocean Ugland Management Corporation of Voorhees, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, operates her with a civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

 crew under contract to the Military Sealift Command as a Common User Tanker as SS Chesapeake (AOT-5084).
Other OPDS tankers are the SS American Osprey, SS Petersburg

SS Petersburg (T-AOT-9101)

SS Petersburg is one of Military Sealift Command's six United States of America Government-owned Tankers and is part of the 35 ships in the Prepositioning Program. It is part of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three...

, and the SS Mount Washington.