USS Avoyel ( ATF - 150 ) USS " Avoyel " ( ATF - 150 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . She was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . " Avoyel " was laid down 25 March 1944 by the Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Charleston , South Carolina ; launched on 9 August 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . George E . Goodman ; and commissioned at Charleston Navy Yard on 8 January 1945 , Lieutenant Commander William R . Brown in command . Service history . Following shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay , the tug reported to Norfolk Navy Yard , Portsmouth , Virginia , for post - shakedown availability . Upon completion of the yard period , the tug was ordered to proceed to the Hudson River , which had frozen to a depth of two to three feet . Though not designed as an icebreaker , " Avoyel " was able to clear a path to Long Island so that ammunition barges could be moved down the river . When this assignment was finished , the vessel returned to Norfolk . In early March , the tug sailed for New Orleans , Louisiana where she picked up a tow and pulled it to Gulfport , Mississippi for loading . " Avoyel " departed the gulf coast on 20 March , bound for the Pacific . She transited the Panama Canal and continued on to the South Pacific . The ship paused at Bora Bora , Society Islands , to refuel before reaching Seeadler Harbor , Manus Island , on 13 May . Upon her arrival there , the tug reported to Commander , Service Force 10 , for duty . On 15 May , the tug was redesignated ATF - 150 . During the remaining months of World War II , " Avoyel " carried out various towing operations among the Philippine Islands ; Hollandia , New Guinea ; Ulithi , Caroline Islands ; Guam , Mariana Islands ; Okinawa ; and Eniwetok , Marshall Islands . Following the Japanese capitulation on 15 August , the tug got underway with Task Group 95 . 4 to clear mines from the waters of the Yellow Sea , off the coast of Korea . " Avoyel " sank several mines with rifle fire ; and , on 7 September , Allied occupation forces began steaming through the cleared area toward the Korean mainland . The tug anchored at Sasebo , Japan on 16 September , and operated in the Sasebo area for the next four months , performing towing jobs and making resupply and refueling runs . On one occasion , " Avoyel " lost her 3 , 000 pound starboard anchor and 54 fathoms of chain in the East China Sea . This was temporarily replaced , however , with a comparable anchor salvaged from a wrecked Japanese vessel . During this period , " Avoyel " detonated a total of 47 mines swept clear of nearby minefields , and supplied over 160 , 000 gallons of distilled water to other vessels in the fleet . On 5 February 1946 , the ship delivered supplies to a destroyer tender anchored off Wakayama , and moored briefly with her sister ship . On 10 February she returned to Sasebo , and underwent repairs alongside before sailing for Hawaii on 2 March with " ARD - 22 " in tow . A sick crewman , however , forced an emergency detour to Saipan , after which her destination was changed to Eniwetok . Upon arrival there , " Avoyel " anchored " ARD - 22 " so that she could assist " YC - 827 " , which was adrift 90 miles west of Eniwetok . Upon returning to Eniwetok with the Lighter , the ship made plans to assist , which had lost its tow , " AFD - 17 " . Sighting the wayward drydock on 26 March , " Avoyel " towed the vessel to Guam , where she rode out a typhoon warning . While at Guam , the ship had a minor hole in her starboard side repaired and a few alterations conducted . Finally , on 12 May 1946 , the ship resumed her interrupted trip to Pearl Harbor , and soon thereafter for the Canal Zone . The vessel retransited the Panama Canal on 12 July and reached New Orleans on the 28th , where the ship underwent a preinactivation overhaul . On 17 October , " Avoyel " proceeded to Orange , Tex . , and was placed out of commission , in reserve , on 11 January 1947 . Transfer to the U . S . Coast Guard . On 9 July 1956 , both the " Avoyel " and were removed from the Beaumont Reserve Fleet , and towed to Curtis Bay , Maryland for conversion and transfer to the United States Coast Guard . Assigned to duty at Eureka , California , the ship continued to provide valuable firefighting , salvage , and rescue services through 1967 . On 10 January 1968 , the ship was involved in an accidental collision with CGC Resolute during high - line drills , which resulted in a six - foot hole on the port side of the latter vessel courtesy of the " Avoyel " s starboard anchor . Though the damage to " Avoyel " was classified as " moderate " , the incident apparently hastened her decommissioning , which occurred on 30 September 1969 . Subsequently sold in 1970 to Gulf Atlantic Oceanographic Research , Inc . of Pensacola , Florida , " Avoyel " continued to serve in a commercial capacity for the remainder of her career . Her final disposition is unknown .