page_title: USS Mississinewa (AO-59)
section_title: Recent history
hierarchical_section_title: USS Mississinewa (AO-59) / Recent history
caption_attribution_description: English: USS Mississinewa (AO-59) burning, taken from the USS Cacapon
context_page_description: USS Mississinewa (AO-59) was the first of two United States Navy ships of the name. She was a T3-S2-A1 Auxiliary Oiler of the US Navy, laid down on 5 October 1943 by the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland; launched on 28 March 1944; sponsored by Miss Margaret Pence; and commissioned on 18 May 1944. Mississinewa was commanded by Captain Philip G. Beck.
context_section_description: On 6 April 2001, after a search, the hulk of the ship was found again. It is now treated as a memorial for over 50 sailors whose remains are still there.
  Later in 2001, in response to concerns voiced by the local government about oil being released from the site, the U.S. Navy led a survey dive to determine the status of the wreck and the potential for environmental damage from the deteriorating hulk. Divers confirmed that the potential for a large release of the tanker's cargo fuel made a recovery attempt necessary.
  In February 2003, a US Navy salvage team led an expedition to recover as much oil as possible.  Divers used "hot taps" to drill into the oil tanks and removed all accessible oil, nearly 2 million US gallons (7,600 m³), rendering the wreck safer. The recovered oil was barged back to Singapore, where it was sold for $0.50/gallon to help cover the $11 million salvage costs.
  The ship was featured on the television shows:  The Sea Hunters, Deep Sea Detectives, and Dogfights.
caption: USS Mississinewa (AO-59) sinking.
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