USS Mohave ( AT - 15 ) USS " Mohave " ( AT - 15 ) was a of the United States Navy . The unnamed steel - hulled Fleet Tug No . 15 was laid down on 16 December 1913 by the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company . She was named " Mohave " in accordance with General Order No . 97 of 9 May 1914 , for the Yuman tribe on the Colorado River in Arizona , California , and Nevada . Launched on 20 June 1914 ; and placed in service at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington , on 2 December 1914 . Assigned to the Puget Sound Navy Yard the same day , " Mohave " operated in the Bremerton ‑ Seattle area and off the coast of Washington on various towing assignments into 1918 . Because of the desperate need created by World War I for sea ‑ going tugs in the Atlantic Ocean , she was detached from Puget Sound Navy Yard 6 February 1918 and sailed ten days later for the east coast . Steaming via Mare Island and San Diego , California , various Mexican ports , the Panama Canal , and Key West , Florida , the ship reached Norfolk , Virginia , on 29 April , and following operations along the east coast and two towing voyages to Bermuda , was temporarily assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service ( NOTS ) on 6 August . " Mohave " towed coal barges from Norfolk to New England ports until after the Armistice in November 1918 , and was then detached from NOTS five days before Christmas ( 20 December ) and was assigned to the 5th Naval District . In 1919 , she made two voyages to Bermuda and then operated in the Caribbean between Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , and Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic , until returning to Norfolk via Key West and Charleston , S . C . , on 15 December 1919 . The next year , during which time she received the alphanumeric hull number AT - 15 on 17 July 1920 , " Mohave " served the fleet by towing coal and stores to Indian Head , Maryland , and making brief voyages to Charleston and New York City . On 18 March 1921 , she was transferred to the 1st Naval District . Based out of Boston , the tug pulled and pushed her barges to ports all along the New England coast , making frequent trips to Portsmouth , N . H . , Newport , R . I . , and numerous Massachusetts ports over the next seven years . In early January 1928 , " Mohave " towed a large oil barge to Provincetown , Mass . , to be unloaded , and then sailed on 12 February to return to Boston , with the empty lighter in tow . Steaming at 9 knots in heavy seas , " Mohave " ran aground in Massachusetts Bay on Harding Ledge near Nantasket , Massachusetts , on 13 February , and took a heavy list forward . Her holds and engine room flooded , and her crew abandoned ship ; tragically , three enlisted men took possession of a punt , without first having obtained permission to do so , and tried to reach the shore . " No trace has since been found , " the Secretary of the Navy later wrote , " of either the punt or the [ three men ] . " By 20 February , a storm had badly damaged the ship , causing a 60° list and destruction of her upper works . Found unfit for service on 29 March , the ship was sold as a hulk on 9 April . " Mohave " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 10 April 1928 . The wreck is still on the reef as of 2006 .