USS Waxsaw ( AN - 91 ) USS " Waxsaw " ( YN - 120 / AN - 91 ) was a " Cohoes " - class net laying ship which was assigned to protect United States Navy ships and harbors during World War II with her anti - submarine nets . Her World War II career was cut short due to the war coming to an end , but , post - war , she was reactivated and served the Navy until she was put into reserve and eventually transferred to Venezuela . Constructed in Minnesota . The second ship to be so named by the Navy , " Waxsaw " ( AN - 91 ) - - originally classified as " YN - 120 " — was laid down on 31 May 1944 at Duluth , Minnesota , by the Zenith Dredge Co . ; launched on 15 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . J . L . Conlon , wife of the general manager of the Zenith Dredge Co . shipyard ; and commissioned on 6 May 1945 , Lt . Kearny R . Garrison , USNR , in command . World War II related service . The new netlaying ship sailed for Boston , Massachusetts , on 11 May , and arrived there on the 29th , after steaming via Cleveland , Ohio ; Ogdensburg , New York ; the St . Lawrence Seaway ; Cornwall , Ontario ; Montreal and Quebec , Quebec Province ; and Halifax , Nova Scotia . Following shakedown out of Melville , Rhode Island , from 13 to 30 June , the netlayer put into Boston for post - shakedown availability . " Waxsaw " headed for the Panama Canal on 10 July , expecting her ultimate destination to be Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands . However , upon her arrival at the Small Craft Training Center , San Pedro , California , she was ordered to the Naval Net Depot and Training School , Tiburon Bay , California , for 18 days of refresher training . Arriving there on 10 August , the ship remained in the San Francisco , California , region on temporary duty in connection with the removal of the net line protecting San Francisco after the Japanese surrender in mid - August . Completing that duty on 24 September , " Waxsaw " underwent an availability at Alameda , California , before she was assigned to the U . S . Atlantic Fleet . Post - war service . On 12 October 1945 , the netlayer headed for the U . S . East Coast in company with sister ship . Attached to Service Force , Atlantic Fleet , on 3 November , " Waxsaw " operated at Green Cove Springs , Florida , establishing moorings at the St . Johns River area for the Reserve Fleet units until late in 1949 , when she was shifted to her new home port of Norfolk , Virginia . Based there at the time of the outbreak of the Korean War in the summer of 1950 , " Waxsaw " not only took part in extensive netlaying operations in Hampton Roads , Virginia , but also towed targets and participated in various training exercises in ensuing months . For the next nine years , " Waxsaw " operated with the Atlantic Fleet off the eastern seaboard of the United States , ranging from Nova Scotia to Key West , Florida . Her home ports during this time included Norfolk , Virginia ; Key West , Florida ; and Charleston , South Carolina . During those years , " Waxsaw " performed a variety of service functions ; participated in mine - hunting exercises ; laid nets and buoys during U . S . Atlantic Fleet amphibious exercises including amphibious maneuvers off Onslow Beach , North Carolina ; cleared objects from the channel entrance at Hampton Roads ; and even briefly operated at Charleston as a salvage vessel equipped with compressors , a recompression chamber , and other deep - sea diving gear . She also took part in NATO exercises off Nova Scotia and served at the Mine Defense Laboratory at Panama City , Florida . Final inactivation . Decommissioned on 23 March 1960 , " Waxsaw " was ultimately transferred under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program to Venezuela in October 1963 . Renamed " Puerto Miranda ( H - 30 ) " , the netlayer served with the Venezuelan Navy as a survey ship into the late 1970s . Struck from the Navy List in December 1977 , the ship was deleted from the Venezuelan Navy List apparently soon thereafter .