Vigor Portland completes first refit of USNS John Lewis

The Portland, Oregon yard of US West Coast ship repairer Vigor has just completed the Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) on the USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205) and the vessel has returned to active service following the work carried out at Vigor’s Swan Island shipyard.

The 49,850 ton full load displacement USNS John Lewis is the first-of-class in the US Navy’s new class of fleet replenishment tankers for the US Navy. Operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) and built by General Dynamic’s NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, the 20-knot tankers are replacing the ageing Henry J. Kaiser-class of fleet replenishment tankers.

The remaining five vessels in the new class will be named USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206), USNS Earl Warren (T-AO 207), USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208), USNS Lucy Stone and USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210).

Beginning in autumn 2023, the new tanker’s PSA included systems improvements and post-delivery upgrades to improve the vessel’s operability.

Meanwhile, also undergoing repair at this yard on June 4th were the following vessels:

• USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) – 49,000 ton full load displacement, 1986-built fleet replenishment tanker, owned by the US Navy and operated by the MSC. Lead vessel in this class
• USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) – 85,552 ton full load displacement 1975-built hospital ship, owned by the US Navy and operated by the MSC. This vessel was converted into a hospital ship from a commercial steam tanker in 1986
• USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) – 40,295 ton full load displacement Lewis & Clark dry cargo vessel, owned by the US Navy and operated by the MSC