USNS Powhatan (T-ATF-166) was the lead ship of the United States Navy Powhatan-class fleet ocean tugboats. She was in service with the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 1999, and then was leased to a private towing and salvage company. At the end of the lease in 2008, the ship was sold to the Turkish Navy which recommissioned her as TCG Inebolu.
Construction and characteristics
The contract for the first four Powhatan-class tugs was awarded to Marinette Marine on 12 September 1975. Powhatan was the first of these vessels to be launched. The contract price for the four ships was $30.5 million. Powhatan was laid down on 30 September 1976 at Marinette Marine's Marinette, Wisconsin shipyard. She was launched on 24 June 1978. The ship was christened at a ceremony in Marinette on 28 October 1978. Her sponsor was Alice Stratton, who was a Navy wife for 19 years at the time, including six during which her husband, Lieutenant Commander Richard Stratton was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Commander Stratton was the principal speaker at the ceremony. Powhatan was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 15 June 1979, and was assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Powhatan's hull was built of welded steel plates. The ship is long, with a beam of , and a draft of . She displaces 2,260 tons fully loaded.
Powhatan has two controllable-pitch Kort-nozzle propellers for propulsion. As originally built, she had two 20-cylinder Diesel engines, GM EMD 20-645F7B, which provided 4,500 shaft horsepower. These could drive the ship at 15 knots. She also had a 300-horsepower bow thruster to improve maneuverability.
Electrical power aboard the ship was provided by three 400 Kw generators. These were powered by four Detroit Diesel 8v-71 engines.
The ship was expected to have global range in order to support the U.S. fleet across oceans. Her tankage is consequently large. She can carry of Diesel oil, of lube oil, and of drinking water.
Like all MSC ships, Powhatan was crewed by civilian mariners. Her complement included 16 civilian crew. There was also a 4-person military detachment of communications specialists aboard. The ship could accommodate an additional 16 people aboard for transient, mission-specific roles.
Powhatan's aft deck is largely open and accommodates a number of different roles. One of the original missions of a fleet tug was to tow damaged warships back to port. The ship's aft deck is equipped with a SMATCO 66 DTS-200 towing winch for service as a towboat. She has a 10-ton capacity crane for moving loads on her aft deck. There are connections to bolt down shipping containers.
All the ships of the Powhatan-class were named after Native American tribes. Powhatan's namesake was the Powhatan people, a leading tribe of eastern Virginia. A notable member of this tribe was Pocahontas. The tug was the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear this name.
U.S. Navy service (19791999)
In April 1981, Powhatan played a minor role in the first launch of the space shuttle Columbia. USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a missile range instrumentation ship, was detailed to support the flight. Regrettably, she had engine trouble and was unable to complete her mission under her own power. Powhatan towed her to her station in time for the flight.
A dive team was embarked, and in July 1985 Powhatan assisted in refloating the beached USS Boulder.
In November 1985 Powhatan was assigned to tow ex-Salmon from Panama to Norfolk, Virginia where the decommissioned submarine was to be used for testing antisubmarine techniques and equipment. While en route, off the coast of Haiti, the rudder locking device on the submarine broke, threatening the tug's ability to tow the hulk. Temporary repairs were made at sea and the two vessels made port at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where permanent repairs were completed. The two ship departed Cuba on 20 November 1985.
In October 1986 the ship was in the area of Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-219 that had suffered an explosion and fire approximately 480 miles northeast of Bermuda. The Pentagon announced that Powhatan was standing by to assist, if asked, but the Soviets ordered the tug to stand clear of the sub. The sub sank as Powhatan watched. Water samples taken by the ship showed no release of radioactive elements.
In May 1995, Powhatan towed ex-Saratoga from its former base in Mayport, Florida to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia.
In September 1998, the ship towed ex-Forrestal from Philadelphia to Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.