USNS Shoshone (T-AO-151), later T-AO-151T, 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...

 Maumee-class

Maumee class oiler

The Maumee class was a class of four United States Navy fleet oilers in service from the mid-1950s until the mid-1980s. It was the first class of United States Naval Ships....

 oiler, later transport oiler, in non-commissioned service with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 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 1957 until probably the mid-1980s.

Shoshone, third U.S. Navy ship to bear the name, was laid down 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 15 August 1955 and launched on 17 January 1957, sponsored by Mrs. James E. Van Zandt. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the Military Sea Transport Service, later 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...

, with a primarily civilian crew in April 1957.

Shoshone went into operation for MSTS as a civilian-manned ship. Her role was point‑to‑point delivery of fuel oil

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...

 and gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

 to the U.S. armed forces

Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...

 at a variety of Atlantic and Pacific ports. She eventually was reclassified as a "transport oiler", resulting her redesignation from "T-AO-151" (as an oiler) to "T-AO-151T" (as a transport oiler). By 1974 she was operating from United States Gulf Coast ports.

Shoshone was placed out of service at an unrecorded date, probably in the mid-1980s. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

, also at an unrecorded date, and was transferred to the Maritime Administration on 1 October 1994 to be laid 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 Suisun Bay

Suisun Bay

Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...

 at Benecia, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

In 2001 she was used as an experimental platform by MH Systems to demonstrate the American Underpressure System (AUPS); a pressurized gas system intended to stop or significantly decrease the amount of oil spillage from single and double-hulled tankers in the event of a hull rupture. Following the test, the Shoshone was returned to the Reserve Fleet in August 2001. Google Earth images from August 25, 2009 still show the Shoshone as being part of the Suisun Bay National Defense Reserve Fleet. (38°3′52"N 122°6′18"W)

The Shoshone was cleared for disposal in March 2010 and is likely to be sold for scrapping in the near future.