USNS Lawrence H. Gianella

USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT-1125) was a United States Military Sealift Command product tanker which typically carries diesel, gasoline, and JP5 (jet fuel).

History
United States
Name	USNS Lawrence H. Gianella
Builder	American Ship Building Company, Tampa, Florida
Launched	1985
In service	22 April 1986
Out of service	23 May 2019
Identification	IMO number: 8314158 MMSI number: 368769000 Callsign: NBBK
Status	Arrived at Brownsville for scrapping 16 APR 2024
General characteristics
Displacement	39,624 long tons (40,260 t) full
Length	615 ft (187 m)
Beam	90 ft (27 m)
Draft	24 ft 8 in (7.52 m)
Propulsion	1 × 5-cylinder Sulzer 5RTA 76 diesel engine, 18,400 hp (13.7 MW), 1 shaft
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Capacity	237,766 bbl (37,801.8 m3)
Complement	24 contract mariners
Armament	None

Name origin

The vessel is named for Radio Operator Lawrence H. Gianella who was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal in 1943 for the heroic action he undertook when his ship was torpedoed on 19 December 1941 in mid-Pacific. Orders had been given to abandon the rapidly sinking ship but Gianella - realizing that his shipmates chances of rescue were slim and dependent on him getting out an SOS message - stayed on board and rigged an emergency radio set, thus sacrificing himself for his shipmates.^[1][2]

Service

Lawrence Gianella headed south towards McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Among Lawrence H. Gianella’s multiple tasks, her reinforced steel bow enables her to battle through pack ice in southern seas and deliver fuel to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. On 1 July 2009, she shifted from the MSC's Sealift Program and began serving the Command's Prepositioning Program. The ships assigned to the program preposition U.S. Marine Corps vehicles, equipment, and ammunition throughout the world. Lawrence H. Gianella served the program by delivering petroleum products to Department of Defense storage and distribution facilities worldwide.^[1]