Navy christens replenishment oiler USNS Thurgood Marshall

The Navy on Saturday christened the newest fleet replenishment oiler, USNS Thurgood Marshall, at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.

The ship honors Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights leader, turned Supreme Court Justice. It is the seventh of the John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oilers and will be operated by Military Sealift Command.

The namesake’s granddaughters — Cecilia L. Marshall and Melonie Tibbs, and granddaughter-in-law, Alissa Kamens Marshall — christened the ship by breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow.

Marshall has the ability to carry 162,000 barrels of diesel ship fuel, aviation fuel and dry stores cargo, according to a Military Sealift Command. The John Lewis class is built with double hulls to protect against oil spills. It has strengthened cargo and ballast tanks and will be equipped with a basic self-defense capability. The Lewis-class of oilers will replace the current Kaiser class fleet replenishment oilers as they age out of the fleet.

Military Sealift Command directs and supports operations for approximately 140 civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, conduct specialized missions, pre-position combat cargo at sea around the world, perform a variety of support services, and move military equipment and supplies to deployed U.S. forces.