USNS Paoli (T-AO-157)

Type T2-SE-A1 tanker in 1943
History
United States
Name	Paoli (1944–1966)
Namesake	Paoli, Pennsylvania
Owner	Maritime Commission (1944–1947) Cities Service Oil Co. (1947–1955) Maritime Commission (1955–1956) US Navy (1956–1957) Marine Navigation Sulphur Carriers (1966–)
Operator	War Emergency Tankers (1944–1946) Sieling & Jarvis (1946–1955) Marine Transport Line (1956–1957)
Builder	Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania
Yard number	401
Laid down	18 July 1944
Launched	31 October 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Lina Martin
In service	15 October 1956
Out of service	2 October 1957
Stricken	2 October 1957
Fate	Sold, 1966
Name	Marine Floridian (1966–c.1997)
Acquired	1966
Name	Belofin Floridian (c.1997)
Identification	IMO number: 5270208
Fate	Scrapped, 1997
General characteristics
Type	T2–SE–A1 tanker
Displacement	5,782 long tons (5,875 t) light 21,880 long tons (22,231 t) full
Length	523 ft 6 in (159.56 m)
Beam	68 ft (21 m)
Draft	30 ft (9.1 m)
Propulsion	Turbo-electric, single screw, 8,000 hp (5,966 kW)
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity	140,000 barrels (22,000 m3)
Complement	251
Armament	None

USNS Paoli (T-AO-157) was a Gettysburg-class fuel tanker, built at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania. A Type T2–SE–A1 tanker, it was hull number 401 and Maritime Commission number 1734. The ship was laid down on 18 July 1944, launched on 31 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Lina Martin, and delivered to the Maritime Commission on 11 November 1944 for operation by War Emergency Tankers, New York City.

Paoli made oil runs to the United Kingdom, between the Caribbean and the east coast; and to the Persian Gulf during World War II.

On 5 January 1946, the ship was transferred to Sieling & Jarvis of Newport News, Virginia, and then sold to Cities Service Oil Co., on 14 January 1947, for $1,797,871.78. The ship was returned to the Maritime Commission on 23 March 1955, at Beaumont, Texas, for lay up.

Paoli was acquired by the United States Navy from the Maritime Administration as political tensions in the Middle East heightened. The ship was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), as USNS Paoli (T-AO-157) on 15 October 1956, and was operated by Marine Transport Lines Inc. Paoli served until returned to MARAD custody and struck from the Navy List on 2 October 1957.

On 2 February 1966, the ship was transferred to Marine Navigation Sulphur Carriers Inc., and rebuilt into a liquid sulfur carrier at Baltimore and renamed SS Marine Floridian. She was a 5,700 ton, 523-foot-long (159 m) ocean-going tanker. On 24 February 1977, Marine Floridian collided with the Benjamin Harrison Bridge, a drawbridge over the James River near Hopewell, Virginia. The collision closed the bridge to traffic for 20 months and resulted in damages totaling $9.7 million. The ship was later renamed SS Belofin Floridian shortly before being scrapped in 1997.

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Photo gallery of Paoli (T-AO-157) at NavSource Naval History
• "T2 Tanker".