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During the naval build-up for World War II, Maritime Commission standard T2 and T3 tankers were converted to US Navy oilers (AO)s with relative ease. By the time VJ-Day came, this fleet included 35 large (22,000-ton) T3 Cimarron-class, and 60 even larger 25,000-ton Kennebec/Suamico/Mission Buenaventura-class T2 oilers.

And that’s not even including tankers requisitioned from trade, and older Kanawha/Patoka/Kaweah class oilers left over from the circa 1917 expansion.

That’s well over 100 large tankers in haze grey.

And Nimitz needed every single one.

It is no secret that the lack of oilers to send to the Southwest Pacific in 1942 led Nimitz to hold back his *numerous available battleships from the opening acts of the Guadalcanal campaign for lack of bunker fuel to feed them. *(USS Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania were only lightly damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor and rejoined the Pacific fleet relatively quickly after, while USS Idaho, Mississippi, and New Mexico were also available, but largely spent 1942 on the West Coast and Eastern Pacific.)

The saga of the oiler USS Neosho (AO-23) from Pearl Harbor to the Coral Sea, during which Admiral Cox referred to her as a “critical strategic asset,” is legend. Further, the ship that took her name after she was sunk, USS Neosho (AO-48), well earned her 13 battle stars for World War II service.

The Navy well remembered the tanker lessons of WWII throughout the Cold War and kept many of the AOs from that era on the payroll for as long as their engines held out– even buying a dozen more T2s from the commercial market after the 1956 Suez crisis pointed the way.

Even with all of the old tankers soldiering on, the Navy still invested millions into six 38,000-ton Neosho-class oilers in the 1950s, eight 40,000-ton Wichita-class AORs, and four massive 54,000-ton Sacramento-class AOEs in the 1960s, even while the Navy began cranking out nuclear-powered carriers, cruisers, and destroyer leaders.

To keep the fleet in fuel as the older T2/T3s began to retire in the 1980s, a new breed of Cimarron-class AOs and fast Supply-class AOEs were ordered.

By 1995, with block obsolescence catching up and the Cold War over, the Navy’s armed grey-hulled oiler fleet had dwindled to a still very respectable 13 Cimmaron and Wichita class AO/AORs, eight Sacramento and Supply class AOEs, and 16 further new 50,000-ton gas turbine-powered AOE(V) class ships planned. Added to this were 16 42,000-ton Henry J. Kaiser-class T-AOs operated by the Military Sealift Command with primarily civilian crews. That’s a hard 30-40 tankers, bube.

Since then, the follow-on AOE(V) class never materialized, the remaining Cimmaron, Sacramento, and Wichita class replenishment ships have been put to pasture, and everything else has long ago been transferred to the MSC. Today, the MSC only has 20 tankers: four new John Lewis-class T-AOs, two aging fast T-AOEs (Supply and Arctic), and 14 assorted Kaisers.

Well, enter the rented tanker turned fleet oiler.

The 58,000-ton MSC chartered Motor Tanker Empire State was built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego with MARAD funds and officially entered service under a long-term charter agreement in October 2010. She even has a DANFS page. 

Empire State is one of 10 U.S.-flagged chartered commercial tankers in MSC’s inventory. They are not USNS grey hulls, but fly normal “bright” commercial livery and have MT designations with an MSC hull number, for instance, MT Empire State (T-AOT 5193).

While usually used to shuttle fuel to overseas bases, Empire State last year notably conducted an underway replenishment at sea with the big deck phib USS Tripoli (LHA-7). During the evolution, the two ships remained on station side-by-side at 12-15 knots for 40 minutes with wet lines attached, transferring F-76 diesel ship fuel.

Before that, at RIMPAC ’22, another contract tanker, MT Maersk Perry, transferred JP-5  and diesel to the three MSC fleet auxillaries: USNS Henry J Kaiser (T-AO 187), Pecos (T-AO 197), and Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11), during CONSOLS-at-sea.

Now, as reported by Naval News, the Navy is looking for 10 more contract tankers to operate in similar roles. 

Note these contract announcements on Wednesday, basically laying out a process to rent-an-oiler for at $100 million a pop from now through 2031. Emphasis mine.

Federated Maritime LLC, Boca Raton, Florida, is awarded a $21,557,995 firm-fixed-price contract with pass through reimbursable elements (N3220526C1244), for time charter of one clean, Coast Guard approved, upon delivery U.S. flag or foreign flag to be reflagged prior to delivery, double hull tanker with an inert gas system and segregated ballast tanks that is capable of carrying a minimum of 240,000 barrels of clean petroleum products (intention JP5, JP8, JAA, or F76) within the vessel’s natural segregation in designated cargo tanks with double valve isolation. This contract includes a 12-month base period with three one-year option periods, and one 11-month option which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $97,749,572. The contract will be for worldwide performance, with intentions to operate in the Western Pacific. The contract is expected to be completed if all options are exercised by May 2031. Transportation Working Capital Funds in the amount of $21,557,995 are obligated for fiscal 2026 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as full and open competition with proposals solicited via the Governmentwide point of entry and nine offers were received. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

U.S. Marine Management LLC, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $16,607,500 firm-fixed-price contract with pass through reimbursable elements (N3220526C1243), for time charter of one clean, Coast Guard approved, upon delivery U.S. flag or foreign flag to be reflagged prior to delivery, double hull tanker with an Inert Gas System and Segregated Ballast Tanks that is capable of carrying a minimum of 240,000 barrels of clean petroleum products (intention JP5, JP8, JAA, or F76) within the vessel’s natural segregation in designated cargo tanks with double valve isolation. This contract includes a 12-month base period with three one-year option periods, and one 11-month option which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $97,138,351. The contract will be for worldwide performance, with intentions to operate in the Western Pacific. The contract is expected to be completed if all options are exercised by May 2031. Transportation Working Capital Funds in the amount of $16,607,500 are obligated for fiscal 2026 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as full and open competition with proposals solicited via the Governmentwide point of entry and nine offers were received. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.