USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT-1125) is a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 product tanker

Tanker (ship)

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 which typically carries diesel, gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

, and JP5 (jet fuel

Jet fuel

Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...

). Its reinforced bow allows it to occasionally make the yearly fuel delivery to McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...

 in Antarctica.

Name origin

The vessel is named for Radio Operator Laurence H. Gianella who was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal

Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal

The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine . The decoration is the highest award which can be bestowed upon members of that service and is the service’s equivalent of the Medal of Honor; since mariners serving in the United State Merchant...

 in 1943 for the heroic action he undertook when his ship was torpedoed on 19 December, 1941 in mid-Pacific. Orders had been given to abandon the rapidly sinking ship but Gianella - realizing that his shipmates chances of rescue were slim and dependent on him getting out an SOS message - stayed on board and rigged an emergency radio set, thus sacrificing himself for his shipmates.

External links

• Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT 1125) at the Naval Vessel Register
• USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT 1125) entry at Military Sealift Command Ship Inventory
• US Navy Fact File on Transport Tankers - T-AOT