The fifth USNS Potomac (T-AO-181) was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 oiler

Replenishment Oiler

A replenishment oiler or fleet tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway in the high seas. Such ships are used by several countries around the world....

 in non-commissioned service with the Military Sea Transportation Service, later 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...

, from 1976 to 1983.

Potomac, sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name, was laid down as SS Shenandoah at Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Chester

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, on 1 March 1964 and launched on 10 October 1964. She was built using the 200-foot (61 m) salvaged stern

Stern

The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...

 section of the oiler USNS Potomac (T-AO-150)

USNS Potomac (T-AO-150)

USNS Potomac was a United States Navy Maumee-class oiler in non-commissioned service with the Military Sea Transportation Service, later Military Sealift Command, from 1957 to 1961.Potomac, fifth U.S...

 -- a ship which had been destroyed by a fire on 26 September 1961 -- to which a new forward section was added. She was the first ship equipped with an offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS), allowing her to supply petroleum products to forces ashore by pumping it directly over the shore instead of having to deliver it in a port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

.

The U.S. Navy acquired Shenandoah on 10 October 1964, and delivered her to Keystone Shipping Company on 11 December 1965. Keystone Shipping then chartered the ship to the Navy's Military Seas Transportation Service (MSTS), which later became the Military Sealift Command (MSC), on a bareboat basis, with Keystone Shipping providing the ship and MSTS providing crew and operating expenses. Shenandoah operated 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 in this manner until the MSC purchased her on 12 January 1976. The Navy then designated the ship T-AO-181 and renamed her USNS Potomac, making her the sixth U.S. Navy ship of the name.

In MSC service, Potomac continued to operate with a civilian crew. The oiler transported bulk petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 products to the United States

United States

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

 armed forces deployed overseas in the Pacific, and on 30 September 1978 was reclassified as a transport oiler and redesignated T-AOT-181.

On 26 September 1983, Potomac was taken out of MSC service and on 4 March 1984 was transferred to the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), becoming SS Potomac.

In 1990, Potomac, operated by Bay Ship Management, owned by the Maritime Administration, and under charter to the Navy, was transferred to the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) and spent more than 10 years stationed at Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

 in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. During this time she participated in sorties, exercises, and training activities, assisted in a humanitarian food relief effort for Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

, assisted forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, and earned the U.S. Navy's "E" for excellence

Battle Effectiveness Award

The Battle Effectiveness Award , commonly known as the Battle "E", is awarded annually to the small number of U.S...

 ship award during convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 exercises in the Indian Ocean.

SS Potomac left Diego Garcia and the MPF in 2000 and was transferred back to the RRF. She was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

 at Beaumont

Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. In 2006 she was downrated from the Ready Reserve Force and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

.