Navy
Newest replenishment oiler USNS Robert F. Kennedy delivered to the Navy
Stars and Stripes
December 11, 2024
John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler, USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208), was delivered to the Navy on Dec. 10 in San Diego. (Naval Sea Systems Command)
The newest John Lewis-class replenishment oiler, the USNS Robert F. Kennedy, was delivered on Tuesday in San Diego, Naval Sea Systems Command said in a news release.
The USNS Kennedy was delivered after completing a series of sea trials where the ship’s readiness and capabilities are tested and validated.
The ship honors Robert F. Kennedy, an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th U.S. Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, during his brother John F. Kennedy’s presidency, where he advocated for the civil rights movement and fought against organized crime and the Mafia. He was assassinated in 1968 while running for president.
The class and its lead ship are named for the late civil rights leader and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. The oilers, which can carry up to 162,000 barrels of oil and have sizable dry cargo capacity, support the Navy’s carrier strike groups. They are built with double hulls to protect against oil spills and with strengthened cargo and ballast tanks. They are replacing the aging Kaiser-class oilers.
The 746-foot Kennedy is the fourth ship in the John Lewis-class.
Current Navy plans call for procuring a total of 20 such replenishment ships, though experts have expressed doubts about the branch’s capacity to fully staff them, given that they are primarily crewed by civilian mariners who are at-will employees that can resign at any time.
Military Sealift Command, which operates around 125 civilian-crewed ships responsible for replenishing Navy vessels, pre-positioning combat cargo at sea and conducting specialized missions, according to the command’s website.
In all, roughly 5,500 civilians fill about 4,500 jobs across Military Sealift Command.