USS Maury ( AGS - 16 ) USS " Renate " ( AKA - 36 ) was an named after the minor planet " 575 Renate . " The meaning of the name is unknown . The ship was later converted for hydrographic missions and renamed USS " Maury " ( AGS - 16 ) , after the famous astronomer and hydrographer Matthew Fontaine Maury . The U . S . Navy originally deployed these survey ships to gather what it called “ environmental intelligence ” and which the U . S . Navy early realized could be to enormous advantage in naval combat operations . During the critical period of the late 1950s and early 1960s these survey vessels , though , made a historical transition from primarily Hydrographic survey or cartographic charting vessels , serving Naval Oceanographic Office ( evolved from the U . S . Naval Observatory and Hydrographic Office through the later separated Hydrographic Office ) and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency primarily military and maritime safety purposes , to more substantially scientific survey and oceanographic research ship s . Through the 1950s and early 1960s , U . S . Naval survey ships , including United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ships engaged by the U . S . Navy , made major discoveries in Earth science . In 1955 for example , scientist aboard the USC & GS Pioneer ( OSS 31 ) first observed the ocean floors magnetic striping while the ship towed the first marine magnetometer ( developed at the University of California ’ s Scripps Oceanographic Research Institute ) along the United State ’ s western coastal waters during the “ Pioneer survey ” . The discovery of magnetic stripping in combination with the discovery of the Mid - Atlantic Ridge ’ s seismologically active central valley was critical to the later development of the theory of plate tectonics . As to the " Maury " , herself , newly expanding oceanographic research aboard survey ships of the 1950s and early 1960s also concentrated heavily on the interaction between ocean and atmosphere . ” In 1958 … in July … her ( the " Maury " ’ s ) North Atlantic resurvey missions were extended and she crossed the ocean to chart the waters in and around the Shetland and Faroe Islands . Throughout this period , while fulfilling her primary assignment of correcting navigational charts , she added to meteorological knowledge by studying the North Atlantic ’ s weather patterns , particularly with regard to hurricanes . ” The ship served under both her names as a commissioned ship for 24 years and 9 months . The ship was originally laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC Hull 1897 ) as " Renate " ( AKA - 36 ) on 21 November 1944 at Providence , R . I . , by Walsh - Kaiser Co . , Inc . ; launched on 31 January 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Joseph L . Baker ; and commissioned at State Pier No . 1 , Providence , on 28 February 1945 , Lt . Cmdr . Joseph F . Wickham , USNR , in command . Service history . World War II , 1945 – 1946 . After completing her fitting - out at Boston , Mass . , " Renate " conducted shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay ( 13 – 19 March ) , after which time she underwent post - shakedown availability at the Norfolk Navy Yard , Portsmouth , Va . ; she ultimately sailed for the Panama Canal Zone on 31 March 1945 . After transiting the canal , she arrived at Balboa on 6 April , and sailed thence two days later , bound for Hawaiian waters and steaming independently . " Renate " reached Pearl Harbor on 21 April , underwent an inspection six days later , and completed discharging cargo on the 29th . Bringing cargo - loading operations to completion on 13 May , " Renate " embarked 197 enlisted passengers — sailors , marines , and soldiers — and two naval officers for transportation the following day , and sailed for the Marshall Islands . Steaming independently , her men standing daily dawn and dusk alerts , the attack cargo ship crossed the 180th meridian on 18 May , and ultimately reached Eniwetok on the 22nd . Pushing on , bound for the western Carolines , on 5 June , she followed a lone course to Ulithi , arriving on 9 June . Next assigned to convoy UOK - 36 , " Renate " got underway for Okinawa on 10 July , dropping anchor in Buckner Bay on the 14th . Interrupting cargo operations to sortie on 19 July to evade a typhoon , she ultimately completed discharging cargo five days later , getting underway to return to Ulithi on 25 July with convoy OKU - 16 . Anchoring in Ulithi lagoon on the last day of July , " Renate " got underway on 2 August for Pearl Harbor . Again steaming independently , she crossed the International Date Line on 10 August , and reached her destination on the 13th . Shifting to Kahului , Maui , ten days later , she completed cargo operations the following day , and sailed to return to Pearl on the 25th . Departing on 14 May , she returned to Hawaii the day before the Japanese capitulation and was assigned to Operation " Campus , " the occupation of the defeated enemy ’ s home islands . She got underway for Kyūshū 1 September , mooring 16 days later at Sasebo where she disembarked units of the 5th Marines . Completing another occupation troop lift , from the Philippines to Sasebo , in early October , she joined in operation " Magic Carpet " , the transportation of Pacific campaign veterans back to the United States . With San Francisco as her terminus she completed two " Magic Carpet " runs by mid January 1946 . The next month she sailed for the East Coast , arriving at Norfolk on the 26th . Conversion to survey ship , 1946 – 1948 . In June she entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for conversion to a survey ship and on 12 July was renamed " Maury " ( AGS 16 ) . As " Maury " she emerged from the shipyard in October with a new silhouette . Electronic survey and sounding equipment , as well as photographic , printing , and repair shops had been added within her compartments and a helipad , helicopter , and sound boats had been provided topside . The boats would be used in charting positions and depths accurately , while the ship ' s helicopter would transport surveyors and their equipment to points ashore and perform aerial photographic missions . On 6 January 1947 " Maury " got underway for the Pacific and her first hydrographic mission , the charting of the waters around Truk and Kwajalein . Having added to navigational knowledge of those areas she sailed for San Francisco , arriving on 13 September and remaining until 11 July 1948 . She then got underway for New York City where she reported for duty with Service Force , Atlantic Fleet , on 10 August . Atlantic Fleet , 1948 – 1959 . During 1949 , 1950 , and 1951 , " Maury " made three 8 - month cruises to the Persian Gulf , constructing charts of those waters , accompanied by the tugs " Allegheny " ( ATA - 179 ) and " Stallion " ( ATA - 193 ) . In October 1952 , in concert with and she began a resurvey of the North Atlantic , to correct existing false soundings on navigational charts and studying methods for hurricane and weather predictions . Through 1957 she served in the Western Atlantic , surveying as far north as Newfoundland in the summer months and working to the south , as far as the West Indies , during the winter . In 1958 " Maury " returned to the " Mediterranean " for an abbreviated deployment , from 3 February to 9 May . In July her North Atlantic resurvey missions were extended and she crossed the ocean to chart the waters in and around the Shetland and Faroe Islands . Throughout this period , while fulfilling her primary assignment of correcting navigational charts , she added to meteorological knowledge by studying the North Atlantic ' s weather patterns , particularly with regard to hurricanes . Early in the Spring of 1959 " Maury " again passed through the Straits of Gibraltar . Continuing on to the Eastern Mediterranean she began a study of the Turkish coast . By September she was ready to extend that survey to the Turkish Black Sea coast and on the 17th and 18th transited the Dardanelles . " Maury " thus became the first U . S . naval unit to enter the Black Sea since 1945 . Pacific Fleet , 1960 – 1969 . The next year , 1960 , " Maury " was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and by 22 March was operating out of Pearl Harbor . Attached to the 7th Fleet ' s logistic support group during her extended cruises , she completed a preliminary survey of the Gulf of Siam in preparation for her next long range assignment , an accurate survey of designated areas of the southwestern Pacific and Indian Oceans . After modernization at Pearl Harbor , she returned to the Gulf of Siam in December with . Working in concert , " Maury " concentrated on hydrographic survey , while " Serrano " gathered information on the physical and chemical makeup of the waters and ocean floor . During their 1961 , 1962 , and 1963 7th Fleet tours , the oceanographic vessels charted and collected data on the Gulf of Siam , the Andaman Sea , the Straits of Malacca and areas of the Philippines , punctuating those tours with missions of mercy as the occasion demanded . Detail of Pacific Fleet activities off Vietnam & in Mekong Delta . Willard J . McNulty ( Captain naval USN ) of Spokane , Washington ( 1918 - 2004 ) commanded the " Maury " during its initial period of Vietnam conflict related activity in Southeast Asian waters from July , 1961 – August , 1962 . During that period of Capt . McNulty ’ s command and with the USS Serrano ( AGS - 24 ) , the " Maury ( AGS - 16 ) " charted and collected data on the Gulf of Siam , Strait of Malacca , and Andaman Sea in prelude to possible U . S . troop and war ship involvement in Vietnam . In addition to standard charting , the extensive " U . S . S . Maury ( AGS - 16 ) " and " Serrano ( AGS - 24 ) " oceanographic and hydrographic surveys completed for these bodies of water included , also , studies of the physical and chemical make - up of both their water and ocean floors by echo sounding casts , bathythermic observations and Core sample s , eve and bottom samplings . The " Maury " completed the brunt of the pairs military intelligence gathering , while the " Serrano " appears to have completed any more scientific research oriented oceanography . Capt . McNulty , who again was in command of the " Maury " during this sensitive , early , period of its primarily military environmental intelligence gathering off Vietnam , had been a surface warfare officer during the Korean War and had prior commanded the also storied escort destroyer USS Tabberer ( DE - 418 ) ( 4 Battle stars for World War II service ) during its later non - combat operations . He later served as a base commander . The " USS Maury ( AGS - 16 ) " and the " USS Serrano ( AGS - 24 ) " were again teamed in the Gulf of Thailand in 1963 - 1964 , and the " USS Maury ( AGS - 16 ) " , itself , saw significant action in the Vietnamese War from 1966 - 1969 , particularly in the Mekong Delta . Its sound boat GS - 16 - 2 was there deployed , and to serve U . S . Vietnam combat operations urgent needs for environmental intelligence , the " Maury " ’ s printing plant there generated and printed on board for immediate distribution multicolored field survey charts for the first time in naval history in 1967 , receiving for that year ’ s operations the Secretary of the Navy ’ s Meritorious Unit Citation . Summarizing with further detail , the " Maury " had surveyed the Vietnam coast with the " Serrano " in 1961 - 1962 and in 1963 - 1964 . On 1 February 1965 " Maury " had departed Pearl Harbor for a four - month survey of the continental shelf off Buenaventura , Colombia . Returning to Oahu on 2 June , she began preparations for her return to Southeast Asia . Departing on 15 November she soon commenced a seven - month survey of the coast of strife - torn South Vietnam . As earlier noted , concentrating on the Mekong Delta area during that cruise , she then resumed her study of the Vietnamese coast with each annual deployment . Into 1969 her efforts added significantly to knowledge of the characteristics of the coastal area in which naval forces conducted riverine warfare and amphibious operations . " Maury " ( AGS - 16 ) earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation and six battle star s for her service in the Vietnam War . Decommissioning . After completing her last operational survey operations , off the coast of the Republic of Korea , " Maury " sailed for home . Pausing at Pearl Harbor en route , she stood out for the West Coast on her final voyage on 1 December 1969 . She reached San Francisco on 8 December , off - loading fuel , ammunition , and vehicles before shifting to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility , Mare Island , Vallejo , Calif . , later the same day . Decommissioned on 19 December 1969 , " Maury " was stricken from the Navy List the same day . The ship remained at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility until transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) on 26 June 1970 . Taken to MARAD ' s Suisun Bay , Calif . , berthing area , she remained there until sold to the National Steel and Metal Co . , of Terminal Island , Calif . , on 10 August 1973 to be broken up for scrap .