USNS New Bedford USNS " New Bedford " ( FS - 289 / AKL - 17 ) was a Navy owned Military Sea Transportation Service civilian crewed " Camano " - class cargo ship originally constructed for the U . S . Army as the coastal freighter FS - 289 shortly before the end of World War II . U . S . Army . Built as the U . S . Army U . S . Army Freight and Supply Ship " FS - 289 " at Wheeler Shipbuilding , Whitestone New York in 1944 she served with a U . S . Coast Guard crew operating in Hawaii during the remainder of the war . U . S . Navy . Acquired and converted to a " Camano " - class cargo ship by the US Navy , 1 July 1950 Placed in service as USNS " New Bedford " ( " AKL - 17 " ) . " New Bedford " s shakedown cruise initially took her across the central Pacific Ocean to Midway Islands , Guam and Saipan . Attached to the Service Force , Pacific Fleet , " New Bedford " carried supplies between Navy bases throughout the central Pacific . The " New Bedford " is also the sister ship of the ill - fated Pueblo , which was captured by the North Koreans in 1968 and whose crew was imprisoned for 11 months . The ship then served out of the port of New Bedford servicing the U . S . Air Force Texas Tower s with equipment , food , petroleum , oils , and lubricant and other required supplies . On 14 January 1961 the ship delivered supplies and stood by the ill fated Texas Tower 4 as the tower awaited orders to abandon . The order came from the Air Force at four in the afternoon of the 15th and the tower was ready to be abandoned at seven . " New Bedford " , struggling in the storm herself trying to reach the tower , last heard from the tower at seven - ten with an estimate from the tower ' s commander that they could hold out until daylight . It was the last message from the tower which was lost with all 28 hands at 7 : 20pm on January 15 , 1961 . The ship was placed out of service in 1963 and then was reclassified Miscellaneous Unclassified , ( IX - 308 ) where it was deployed to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center , Keyport , Washington for torpedo testing duty and assigned service - craft status . The ( " IX - 308 " ) served as a Torpedo Test Firing Vessel and during this assignment she steamed over 310 , 000 nautical miles . She was equipped with both surface and underwater launchers and associated fire control equipment . She supported proofing , acceptance testing and research work on Keyport ' s ranges since that time . During these past 31 years , the " New Bedford " has : 1 ) fired over 7200 units ( torpedoes , targets , etc . ) ; 2 ) recovered more than 900 units ; 3 ) planted more than 5425 range buoys ; 4 ) retrieved over 4650 range buoys ; 5 ) made server port calls to Vancouver and Nanaimo , British Columbia and two trips to San Diego . Inactivation and sale . The IX - 308 ' s out - of - service ceremony incorporated elements of the vessel ' s presumed history . The torpedo station people had come to the assumption that this ship , not her sister ship the " Hewell " , was used in the movie " Mr . Roberts " . The proceedings were highlighted by audio clips taken directly from the film . Those present heard memorable film quotes just as they had been spoken by the actors in the film so many years ago . The ceremony was not limited to the ship ' s film history , but also touched on its long military career . The Mayor of the City of New Bedford , Massachusetts , the Honorable Rosemary Tierney , was in attendance along with retired Navy Captain Frederick R . Purrington . The out of service ceremony commenced flawlessly , but did not end without one final act of good humor . Code 80 ' s Steve Schultz appeared as Ensign Pulver at the end of the proceedings . He sprinted down the bow of the vessel with a palm tree . Schultz , or rather Pulver , launched the unsuspecting palm over the pier in one final act of defiance as well as in celebration and honor of the " New Bedford " IX - 308 . In total , the USNS " New Bedford " served for nearly five decades in the Army and Navy . October 28 , 1994 finally saw the flag lowered on the vessel , thus ending its military career .