Sioux IV (T-ATF-172)
1981–2021
The Sioux are a confederacy of nomadic tribes that inhabited the plains and prairies from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains and that speak three different dialects, the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. This is the fourth ship to bear the name. The first (YT-19) was a tug that served from 1898 until sold in 1921; re-named Nyack in 1918. The second (ID-1766) was a cargo ship that served from 1917-1919. The third (AT-75) Sioux (ATF-75) was a tug that served from 1942 through 1972 and earned four battle stars for World War II service and eight battle stars for service in the Vietnam War.
IV
(T-ATF-172; displacement 1,387 (light) 2,000 (full); 1ength 226'; beam 42'; draft 15'; speed 15 knots; complement 21; class Powhatan)
The fourth Sioux (ATF-172) was laid down on 22 March 1979 at Marinette, Wis., by the Marinette Marine Corporation; launched on 15 November1980; the sponsor is unknown; and delivered to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) on 1 May 1981.
On 4 October 1991 Arkansas (CGN-41), Sioux, Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34), and Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 6 rescued personnel on merchant ships in three different rescue operations in the Arabian Sea.
On 26 January 2007 there was a fatal crash of a MH-60S Knighthawk. Navy salvage teams, including Sioux and the Remotely Operated Vehicle Deep Drone 8000 recovered the remains of the helicopter’s crew and remained on station to recover the helicopter's wreckage in order to assist in the investigation of the crash on 16 February.
From 25 April through 30 May 2008 Sioux towed the decommissioned nuclear submarine Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709) from the Panama Canal to Bremerton, Washington. Sioux and Rickover did stop in San Diego from 13-23 May.
On 12 November 2009 people from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, and Naval Sea Systems Command embarked on Sioux conduct deep salvage removal operations utilizing the Deep Drone remotely operated vehicle to recover flight data recorders and document the crash site of a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 Hercules and a U.S. Marine Corps AH-1 Super Cobra collision.
On 27 February 2014, Canadian auxiliary oil replenishment ship Protecteur (AOR-509) experienced a major engine room fire at sea while returning to its home port of Esquimalt, British Columbia, after a two-month deployment in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Sioux rendered assistance by successfully taking Protecteur under tow back to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The ships arrived on 6 March. For this action Sioux was awarded the Canadian Forces Unit Commendation on 16 June 2015.
Sioux was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 September 2021.
Detailed history pending.
Christopher B. Havern Sr.
25 November 2015
Updated 14 October 2022
