USS Seekonk ( AOG - 20 ) USS " Seekonk " ( AOG - 20 ) was a " Mettawee " - class gasoline tanker acquired by the U . S . Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet , and to remote Navy stations . " Seekonk " was built in 1943 as " Summit Springe " ( MC hull 902 ) under a Maritime Commission contract by the Marine Maintenance Corp . , now East Coast Shipyards , Inc . , Bayonne , New Jersey , launched on 24 May 1943 sponsored by Miss Gladys G . Merrick ; and commissioned on 10 February 1944 , Lt . ( jg . ) Albert E . Eldred , USNR , in command . World War II service . " Seekonk " was the fourth of a group of small , single screw , engine - aft , diesel propelled tankers accepted by the Navy during World War II . After fitting out at Staten Island , New York ; shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay ; and post - shakedown availability at the Norfolk Navy Yard , " Seekonk " got underway in convoy on 22 March 1944 for Aruba , Netherlands West Indies . Putting into Nicolas Bay , Aruba , on 1 April , " Seekonk " loaded cargo , fuel , and aviation gasoline and departed the next day for the Panama Canal Zone . On 10 April , the gasoline tanker departed Balboa for New Guinea , arriving at Finschaven on 1 June . South Pacific operations . For the remainder of 1944 , " Seekonk " operated off the coast of New Guinea , visiting such ports as Madang , Hollandia , Sansapor , Mios Woendi , Biak , and Morotai . On 31 October , aided by harbor guns , the small oiler fought off four attacking Japanese planes off Soemoe Island , Morotai , Netherlands East Indies , and splashed two and possibly three of the attackers . Serving Philippine invasion forces . From 7 January to 14 February 1945 , " Seekonk " fueled a large share of the amphibious ships used in liberating Luzon and other islands of the Philippines . On the 18th , the gasoline tanker , towing Army crash boat , " N6 - 1 " , took her position in convoy GI 11 - ( A ) en route to Leyte , Philippines , and arrived at San Pedro Bay on 4 March . End - of - war activity . " Seekonk " operated in the Philippine area until the cessation of hostilities in August . During this period the ship served as harbor oiler at Mindoro Island , Subic Bay , and Lingayen . From 28 August to 9 October , the ship fueled Task Group 71 . 2 as it was engaged in sweeping Allied and Japanese - laid mines from the approaches to Shanghai . Post - war operations . On 10 October , " Seekonk " got underway with Task Group 73 . 14 , assigned to clear the mines in Haiphong Harbor , French Indochina , and in the Hainan Strait . From 12 October , " Seekonk " had to be towed by ( DE - 677 ) due to a piston seizure in her main engine . On the 20th , she anchored off Doson Peninsula , Tonkin Gulf . Continuing the fueling of the task group , " Seekonk " was towed to the Norway Islands , Tonkin Gulf , on 24 October , and to Hainan on the 29th . On 2 November the gasoline tanker was towed to Han Dau Island , using her own engine part of the time . On 11 November , she got underway with Task Group 74 . 4 for Hong Kong . Towed part of the way , " Seekonk " arrived there on 15 November . Continued engine problems . On 21 December , her main engine repaired , " Seekonk " departed Hong Kong en route to Pearl Harbor . On 26 December , however , her main engine was again disabled , and she limped toward Okinawa , assisted into Buckner Bay by ( ATF - 152 ) on the 29th . Post - war decommissioning . " Seekonk " reached San Francisco , California , on 26 February 1946 . She was decommissioned and stripped on 1 May 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 21 May 1946 . The small oiler was turned over to the Maritime Commission as a usable vessel on 28 August 1946 . " Seekonk " was fitted out and sold as a merchant vessel by the Maritime Commission . " Seekonk " was purchased on 28 January 1949 by Newfoundland Tankers Ltd . , a subsidiary of Irving Oil . Under Irving ownership , the name was unchanged , and " Seekonk " sailed to eastern Canada where she worked in the Great Lakes on charter to British American Oil Company for several seasons beginning in 1951 . She later saw service for Irving Oil to ports in the Maritimes and Newfoundland and Labrador . On 7 June 1963 a fire broke out in the galley while " Seekonk " was in Charlottetown , Prince Edward Island , Canada . Following several explosions , the fire spread throughout the aft end of the vessel , consuming the bridge , accommodations and engine room . The burning ship was towed from the pier by the Canadian Coast Guard ' s CCGS " Tupper " and was removed from the harbour ; the " Seekonk " was beached on Governors Island in Hillsborough Bay where the fire burned out after two days . After the fire was out , " Seekonk " was towed to an Irving Oil dock in Buctouche , New Brunswick , Canada where she was broken up . Military awards and honors . The U . S . Navy record does not indicate whether " Seekonk " was awarded battle stars . However , her crew was eligible for the following :