Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Tommy Trampp

USNS Apache (T-ATF-172)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Golf - Papa NIGP

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation (2)
Bottom Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2) - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2-Op Restore Hope, Somalia - 1-Op Uphold Democracy, Haiti, 1-Bosnia)

Powhatan Class Fleet Ocean Tug:

Laid down, 22 March 1979, at Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, WI.

Launched, 28 March 1981

Delivered to the Navy, 23 July 1981

Assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), and placed in service as USNS Apache (T-ATF-172)

USNS Apache is currently attached to MSC Atlantic

Specifications:
Displacement 1,387 t.(lt) 2,000 t.(fl)
Length 218'
Beam 42'
Draft 15' (max)
Speed 15 kts.

Complement

Civilian Mariners 16

Navy (Communications Unit) 4

Propulsion

two GMC EMD 20-645F7B Diesel engines (5.73 MW sustained)

two shafts, controllable reversible pitch propellers mounted in Kort nozzles, 7,200shp

bow thruster, 300hp (224KW)

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	160k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
	69k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** moored pierside, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	.
	148k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172) towing the decommissioned destroyer USS Barry (DD-933) to Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C., 15 November 1983. Barry** was docked at Pier 2 and was opened to the public as a museum. She was sold in 2016 to be scrapped as it became too expensive to maintain her. US National Archives Photo # Navy ARC Identifier # 638681 a US Navy photo by PH3 Dixson now in the collections of the US National Archives	Robert Hurst
	79k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** departing Valletta Port, Malta, 31 January 2002	Photo by Anthony Vella, of Senglea, Malta.
	91k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** moored pierside at Marseille, France, 31 July 1999.	Photo Guy Schaeffer from the Collection Paolo Marsan
	153k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** moored pierside at US Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, VA., date unknown. US Navy photo.	David Buell
	315k	Guided missile cruiser *USS Philippine Sea* (CG-58) Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) boarding team performs, practice-boarding procedures with USNS Apache (T-ATF-172), in the Atlantic Ocean, 10 September 2003. Philippine Sea** is conducting work ups before its upcoming scheduled six-month deployment as part of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group. US Navy photo # 030910-N-5471P ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 10 2003) by PH2 Aaron Peterson	Robert Hurst
	493k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** fitted with submarine rescue equipment at Stavanger, Norway, before participating in Exercise Bold Monarch 2008. US Navy Military Sealift Command photo.	Robert Hurst
	241k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** moored pierside, 23 October 2010, location unknown. US Navy Military Sealift Command photo.	Robert Hurst
	1812k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172) with Ex-USS Nassau (LHA-4)** on tow, 13 April 2011, in Hampton Roads enroute to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX. Group.	Photo by Danny Mason USS Nassau
	1046k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** anchored in the Patuxent River off Solomons Island, MD., for Navy diver training. US Navy photo # 120911-N-RU135-004 SOLOMONS ISLAND, Md. (Sept. 11, 2012) by Meghan Patrick	Lee Wahler
	192k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172) participating in a vessel board search and seizure (VBSS) drill for sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG-103) Truxtun** is conducting its final pre-deployment evaluation with the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group to achieve mission readiness and the ability to work alongside international allies in the execution of the Navy's maritime strategy. US Navy photo # 131122-N-EI510-009 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Nov. 22, 2013) by MCSN Scott Barnes	Lee Wahler
	115k	Starboard view of *USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Tommy Trampp
	394k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
093917214	136k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172) fueling from the non-self-propelled fuel oil barge YON-334, before departing Norfolk, VA., 19 Oct. 2015, to begin searching for wreckage from the missing U.S. flagged merchant vessel El Faro. Apache** is equipped with several pieces of underwater search equipment, including a voyage data recorder locator, side-scan sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle. The Navy’s mission will be to first locate the ship and, if possible, to retrieve the voyage data recorder – commonly known as a black box. US Navy photo # 151019-N-EW716-002 NORFOLK, VA. (Oct. 19, 2015, by MC2 George Bell.	Robert Hurst
	261k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172) stands out of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. Apache went to sea in support of National Transportation Safety Board El Faro** investigation. US Navy photo # 160805-N-OH262-178 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Aug. 5, 2016) by Bill Mesta/	Lee Wahler
093917215	273k	*USNS Apache* (T-ATF-172) tows the decommissioned amphibious dock landing ship ex- USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43)*, 16 April 2021, from Naval Station Mayport, FL. to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, PA. US Navy photo # 210416-N-AC165-0020 MAYPORT Fl. (April 16 2021)*	Robert Hurst