*The US Navy has accepted delivery of the first John Lewis-class fleet oiler that will be operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Per Navel Technology, “It will be used for delivering jet fuel for aircraft, diesel fuel, lubricating oil, small quantities of fresh and frozen provisions and potable water to US Navy vessels deployed at the sea.”
“USNS John Lewis will provide much needed capability to the fleet as the primary fuel pipeline at sea,” said John Lighthammer, program manager for the oilers. “This is the first of a 20-ship class providing the sailors and merchant mariners another tool to support at-sea operations.”
Lighthammer said: “The John Lewis-class oilers will add capacity to the Navy’s Combat Logistics Force and become the cornerstone of the fuel delivery system at sea.”
READ MORE: Watch Alfre Woodard Christen the Navy’s New USNS John Lewis (Video)
One year ago today, NASSCO shipbuilders successfully launched the USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), the first vessel in the John Lewis-class fleet oiler program designed to support the U.S. Navy.#NASSCO #OneNASSCO #USNavy #SanDiego #navyship #shipbuilders #shipbuilding #maritime pic.twitter.com/MgFR2oIDkz
— NASSCO (@GDNASSCO) January 13, 2022
The first John Lewis-class fleet oiler was built at the NASSCO shipyard in Barrio Logan.
Here’s more from Wiki:
On 30 June 2016, General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) was awarded detailed design and construction for six John Lewis-class replenishment oilers. NASSCO began construction on John Lewis on 20 September 2018, and began construction on Harvey Milk on 3 September 2020. In January 2020 it was announced the lead ship delivery estimate had been delayed from November 2020 until June 2021 due to delays in delivery of gear and flooding of a graving dock.
The class is named for its lead ship, John Lewis, which in turn is named for American politician and civil rights leader John Lewis. The remaining John Lewis-class oilers will be named after prominent civil rights leaders and activists.
In 2019, Lewis, a pioneer in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, traveled to San Diego to initial the keel plate of the ship named in his honor.
“To name a series of ships after me is…unbelievable,” said Lewis at the time. “It says something about the distance we’ve come and the progress we’ve made. It’s a different America.”
“I hope this ship will inspire people,” he told the shipyard workers, as reported by the Times of San Diego.
“My philosophy is very simple,” he explained. “When you see something that’s not right, you have a moral obligation to speak out.”
