USS Deal ( AG - 131 ) USS " Deal " ( AG - 131 / AKL - 2 ) was constructed for the U . S . Army as U . S . Army " FS - 263 " shortly before the end of World War II and later acquired by the U . S . Navy in 1947 . She was configured as a transport and cargo ship , classed by the Navy as a " Camano " - class cargo ship and operated with the U . S . Pacific Fleet from post - World War II and on through the end of the Korean War . Construction . " FS - 263 " was a Design 381 ( Vessel , Supply , Diesel , Steel , 177 ' ) U . S . Army Freight and Supply vessel built in 1944 for the U . S . Army by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp . , Whitestone , Long Island , New York . U . S . Army service . " FS - 263 " was commissioned at New York on 16 August 1944 with a U . S . Coast Guard crew under the command of LTJG W . G . Hill , USCGR . The ship departed New York for the Southwest Pacific on 6 September 1944 for operations throughout the war . In August 1945 she was in New Guinea awaiting cargo for the Philippines and during the closing days of the war was in drydock at Finschhafen , New Guinea . After transit to Oro Bay , New Guinea during 15 – 16 August 1945 inspection revealed a cracked cylinder liner causing her to be drydocked again for repairs . The Coast Guard crew was removed and the ship was decommissioned on 12 October 1945 . U . S . Navy service . The ship was acquired by the Navy 2 March 1947 ; and commissioned at Guam 3 August 1947 , Lieutenant ( junior grade ) P . G . Pattern in command . She was first classified as a Miscellaneous Auxiliary ( AG ) then reclassified as a Light Cargo Ship , " AKL - 2 " , 31 March 1949 . Pacific Fleet support . While based at Guam , " Deal " carried cargo to the small islands in the Mariana Islands , the Marshall Islands , and the Caroline Islands until arriving at Pearl Harbor 11 August 1949 . She conducted cargo operations from this base to the outlying islands of the Hawaiian chain , Palmyra Atoll , and Canton Island until 16 May 1950 . She sailed to Kwajalein for a brief period , returning to Pearl Harbor 3 July . Korean War service . With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea , " Deal " got underway from Pearl Harbor 14 September 1950 for Sasebo , Japan , arriving 8 November . She operated as a part of the U . S . 7th Fleet under the control of Commander , Service Squadron 3 , in logistics support of the United Nations forces in Korea , and visited other ports in Japan , Formosa , the Pescadores , Okinawa , and the Philippines until 28 February 1955 when she departed Yokosuka for the United States . Inactivation . After a short visit to Long Beach , California , she arrived at Astoria Bay 13 April to start inactivation . She was placed out of commission in reserve at Portland , Oregon , 8 September 1955 and sold 18 December 1961 . Civilian service . The further history of the ship ' s history sees her with the name of " Olga Patricia " and then " Laissez Faire " configured as a " pirate " radio ship off Essex in the United Kingdom housing 5 different radio stations from May 3 , 1966 until August 5 , 1967 , then US court cases followed by allegations of " secret " use from 1971 in the Caribbean with the name of " Akuarius II " . By 1974 the ship had been sold and converted to a menhaden vessel and was named the " Earl J . Conrad Junior " operating for what is now the Omega Protein company which for many years operated the ship in the Chesapeake Bay area menhaden fishery . It was sold for scrap 2013 .