USNS Andrew J. Higgins

USNS Andrew J. Higgins (T-AO-190) was a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler of the United States Navy which saw active service from 1987 to 1996. Sold to Chile in 2009, she was commissioned as Almirante Montt in the Chilean Navy in 2010.

USNS Andrew J. Higgins in September 1987
History
United States
NameUSNS Andrew J. Higgins
NamesakeAndrew Higgins (1886-1952), American shipbuilder
Ordered22 November 1983
BuilderAvondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down21 November 1985
Launched17 January 1987
In service22 October 1987
Out of service6 May 1996
Stricken6 January 2009
FateSold to Chile 19 May 2009
Almirante Montt off Valparaiso, Chile, in March 2019.
Chile
NameAlmirante Montt
NamesakeJorge Montt (1845-1922), Chilean Navy vice admiral, President of Chile (1891–1896)
OperatorChilean Navy
Acquired19 May 2009
Commissioned10 February 2010
IdentificationIMO number: 8325559
General characteristics
Class and typeHenry J. Kaiser-class oiler
Tonnage31,200 deadweight tons
Displacement
  • 9,500 tons light
  • Full load variously reported as 42,382 tons and 40,700 long tons (41,353 metric tons)
Length677 ft (206 m)
Beam97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft35 ft (11 m) maximum
Installed power
  • 16,000 hp (12,000 kW) per shaft
  • 34,442 hp (25,683 kW) total sustained
PropulsionTwo medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 diesel engines, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity
Complement103 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy officer, 64 merchant seamen, 20 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel)
Armament
Aircraft carriedNone – probably can facilitate Chilean Navy Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma
Aviation facilitiesaft deck Helicopter landing platform
Notes
  • Five refueling stations
  • Two dry cargo transfer rigs

Construction

Andrew J. Higgins, the fourth ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 21 November 1985 and launched on 17 January 1987. She was named for Andrew Higgins, the man credited with developing the landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP), or "Higgins Boat", of World War II.

Service history

U.S. Navy

Andrew J. Higgins entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under Military Sealift Command control with a primarily civilian crew on 22 October 1987. She was taken out of active service on 6 May 1996 and placed in reserve in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay at Benicia, California, where she remained until September 2009. She was the first ship of her class to be taken out of service.

In 2008, Andrew J. Higgins was selected for transfer to Chile as a Foreign Assistance Act grant. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 6 January 2009 and sold to Chile on 19 May 2009. She was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay on 24 September 2009 and towed to the Atlantic Marine Alabama shipyard at Mobile, Alabama, to undergo a three-month refit and overhaul.

Chilean Navy

Renamed Almirante Montt with the identification number AO-52, the oiler was commissioned in the Chilean Navy on 10 February 2010, replacing the oiler Araucano.

In an effort to address the Royal Canadian Navy's at-sea support services capability gap until the arrival of its new Protecteur-class supply ships, Canada signed a Mutual Logistic Support Arrangement with Chile in 2015. As part of that arrangement, the Chilean Navy operated Almirante Montt for 40 sea days in the Canadian Pacific region in support of Royal Canadian Navy training requirements in July and August 2015, working with the frigates HMCS Calgary and HMCS Vancouver.[1][2] Almirante Montt returned to Canada in 2016, operating with the Royal Canadian Navy from April to June 2016.[2]

References

Citations'

  1. Pugliese, David (11 July 2015). "Canada's Navy 'Rents' Chilean Resupply Ship". DefenseNews. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. Pugliese, David (4 April 2016). "Chilean supply ship back on west coast to help Royal Canadian Navy". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

References


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