Kanawha V (T-AO-196)
1990–
The fifth U.S. Navy ship named for a river in southwest West Virginia formed by the confluence of the New and Gauley Rivers at Gauley Bridge, W. Va., and empties into the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, W. Va.
V
(T-AO-196: displacement 9,500; length 677'; beam 97'; draft 35'; speed 20 knots; complement 103; armament 1 .50-caliber machine gun, 2 20mm Phalanx close in weapon system (CIWS); class Henry J. Kaiser)
The fifth Kanawha (T-AO-196) was laid down on 13 July 1989 at New Orleans, La., by Avondale Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 22 September 1990; and sponsored by Mrs. Martha L. Donovan, wife of Vice Adm. Francis R. Donovan, former commander of Military Sealift Command (MSC). She was delivered to the Navy and placed in non-commissioned service with a primarily civilian crew under the control of MSC in the United States Atlantic Fleet on 6 December 1991.
On 10 September 2009, four sailors were injured when a rogue wave hit Kanawha 60 miles east of Virginia Beach, Va. They were medevaced to Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va., by two Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawks.
On 18 November 2010, while preparing to conduct a routine replenishment at sea (RAS) off the east coast of Florida, Canadian patrol frigate Fredericton (FFH.337) and Kanawha collided. Neither ship reported casualties and they assessed their damage as minor, with scrapes and dents on both hulls where they made contact. The ships did not have any fuel hoses or supply lines connected at the time of the incident.
Detailed history pending.
Paul J. Marcello
1 December 2015
