The USNS Shoshone (T-AO-151), later designated T-AO-151T, was a Maumee-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy, serving primarily in a non-commissioned capacity under the Military Sea Transportation Service (later the Military Sealift Command) from 1957 until the mid-1980s. She was laid down on 15 August 1955 at the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Chester, Pennsylvania, and launched on 17 January 1957, with Mrs. James E. Van Zandt serving as her sponsor. Designed as a replenishment vessel, Shoshone’s primary function was the point-to-point delivery of fuel oil and gasoline to U.S. armed forces across various Atlantic and Pacific ports. She was operated with a predominantly civilian crew, characteristic of non-commissioned support ships. Initially classified as a regular oiler (T-AO-151), she was later reclassified as a transport oiler (T-AO-151T), reflecting her role in transporting fuel as part of logistical operations. Throughout her service, Shoshone operated from different U.S. ports, including the Gulf Coast by 1974. She was eventually placed out of service, likely in the mid-1980s, and was subsequently struck from the Naval Vessel Register. On 1 October 1994, she was transferred to the Maritime Administration and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California. In 2001, Shoshone was repurposed as an experimental platform by MH Systems to demonstrate the American Underpressure System (AUPS), an innovative pressurized gas technology aimed at reducing oil spillage from tankers in case of hull breaches. Following this testing, she was returned to the Reserve Fleet. Photographic evidence from August 2009 confirms her presence in Suisun Bay. Ultimately, the USNS Shoshone was scrapped in 2014, marking the end of her maritime service and significance as a support vessel in U.S. naval logistics history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.