USS Sebec ( AO - 87 ) USS " Sebec " ( AO - 87 ) was a acquired by the United States Navy for use during World War II . She had the dangerous but necessary task of providing fuel to vessels in combat and non - combat areas primarily in the Pacific Ocean . For her valiant efforts , she received six battle star s during the war . " Sebec " , a type T2 - SE - A2 tanker hull , was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1266 ) on 20 May 1943 by the Marinship Corp . of Sausalito , California . Launched on 29 July 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . E . B . Fox , she was delivered to the Kaiser Swan Island Yard , Portland , Oregon , for completion and conversion to an oiler , and accepted and commissioned by the Navy on 29 March 1944 , Lt . Comdr . Howard M . Elder , USNR , in command . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . After shakedown off San Diego , California , " Sebec " steamed to San Pedro , California , arriving on 16 June . Two days later , she departed the U . S . West Coast and arrived Pearl Harbor on the 24th . On 28 June , " Sebec ' s " task unit got underway for the Marshall Islands . Anchoring at Eniwetok on 6 July , " Sebec " loaded a cargo of fuel oil , diesel oil , gasoline , and light freight before standing out of the harbor on 15 July . After refueling units of Task Force 58 on 22 July , " Sebec ' s " unit arrived off Agat , Guam , on the 24th . On the 27th , after discharging the remainder of her cargo fuel oil , diesel oil , and part of her gasoline , " Sebec " got underway on the 28th and arrived at Eniwetok on 1 August . " Sebec " departed Eniwetok on 20 August and arrived at Seeadler Harbor , Manus island , Admiralty Islands , on the 28th . She set out the next day , fueled vessels on 3 September , and returned to the harbor on the 6th . She spent the next two months performing similar assignments . Sinking of the " Mississinewa " . On 2 November , " Sebec " anchored at Ulithi , West Carolines . On 20 November , exploded in her berth 2 , 500 yards from " Sebec " , hit by a Japanese " Kaiten " manned torpedo , launched from an enemy submarine nearby . The next morning " Sebec " got underway for Kossol Roads , Palau Islands , anchoring at Kossol Passage on the 22nd . On the 30th , all ships were ordered underway at various speeds and courses to avoid air attack . " Sebec ' s " crew sighted bomb splashes , but saw no aircraft . The oiler spent the remainder of 1944 on fueling tasks , including a 24 - hour fueling assignment of an escort carrier division on 30 and 31 December . Danger from Japanese submarines . " Sebec " arrived at Ulithi on 4 January 1945 . On the 12th , she sounded general quarters after was hit by a torpedo while in berth there . Four times that day , the crew was ordered to general quarters in response to reports of enemy submarines nearby . On 20 January , " Sebec " got underway in a convoy bound for Eniwetok . On the 24th , she left the convoy and proceeded independently to Hawaii . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 February for emergency repairs . " Sebec " departed Pearl Harbor on 19 March bound for Ulithi , carrying a cargo of fuel oil , diesel oil , and aviation gasoline . After arrival on 1 April , " Sebec " resumed her fueling operations . On 4 May , " Sebec " received orders to proceed independently to Hagushi Beach , Okinawa . From 8 to 12 May , she fueled screening vessels off the transport area before returning to Ulithi on the 16th . End - of - war activity . During a typhoon on 5 June , two of her gasoline pumps were damaged . The following evening , the oiler got underway for Okinawa , arriving at Hagushi Beach on 7 June . From 8 June through 26 September , " Sebec " participated in additional fueling operations . On the 27th , she received orders to report to Tokyo Bay . " Sebec " remained in Tokyo Bay from 2 to 11 October . On the 12th , she got underway with for San Francisco , California , anchoring on the 24th . On 29 October , she unloaded all her ammunition at the Mare Island Ammunition Depot and returned to the anchorage . Post - war transfer to MSTS . " Sebec " was decommissioned on 7 February 1946 and was struck from the Navy List on 26 February . On 1 July , she was transferred to the Maritime Commission , but was reinstated on the Navy List on 28 April 1950 , and assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service as the non - commissioned naval vessel USNS " Sebec " ( T - AO - 87 ) , manned by a civilian crew . Korean War operations . She shuttled between Alaskan and Caribbean waters until January 1951 when she departed the West Indies for a round - the - world cruise via the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal , returning to Aruba on 16 October . During the latter part of the Korean War , " Sebec " carried fuel oil from Bahrain , Persian Gulf , to Okinawa and Japan . " Sebec " arrived at Long Beach , California , on Christmas Eve 1953 , but began the new year getting underway for Pearl Harbor . After returning to San Pedro , California , " Sebec " sailed again , arriving at Kaohsiung , Taiwan , on 4 June ; thence she proceeded to Manila , the Persian Gulf , and Japan before returning to the West Coast . In the next year , " Sebec " operated in Alaska as well as in the Far East . On 22 December 1955 , " Sebec " was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay , California , and struck from the Navy List . She was reinstated on the Navy List on 21 June 1956 and operated for MSTS by the Joshua Hendy Corp . Transferred to U . S . Army service . " Sebec " was returned to the Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) and struck from the Navy List on 3 September 1957 . She was acquired to the United States Army on 9 June 1966 , and converted to a floating power station at Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Co . , Mobile , Alabama , before seeing service in Vietnam . Final decommissioning . Title to " Sebec " was transferred to MARAD for the US Army , the ship was subsequently sold for scrapping , to Dongkuk Steel Co . , Ltd . , Seoul , South Korea , on 9 September 1974 . Awards . " Sebec " received six battle stars for World War II service .