USS Serapis (IX-213) was a single-screw 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:...

 that served for a short time as a floating storage tanker for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 at the end of World War II.

Built in 1921 for the United States Shipping Board

United States Shipping Board

The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....

 by Baltimore Dry Dock and Shipbuilding, Baltimore, Maryland, the ship was originally named SS District of Columbia. Allocated to the Navy by the Maritime Commission in February 1945, renamed Serapis, and designated IX-213 on 9 March 1945, she was partially converted at San Francisco and delivered to the Navy at Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

. The ship was commissioned on 3 August 1945, Lieutenant (junior grade) Eugene F. Dunne, USNR, in temporary command.

Service history

Acquired for temporary wartime use as a mobile floating storage unit for 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 diesel oil at Pearl Harbor and in the Trust Territories

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1986.-History:...

, Serapis was declared surplus after the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific. She remained at Pearl Harbor until 16 September when she was taken in tow by the for her return to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

On 2 October, she arrived at San Francisco where she was decommissioned and returned to the Maritime Commission on 19 October. Her name was struck from the Navy List

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 1 November 1945, and she was sold in May 1947 to the American Iron and Metal Company for scrapping.

External links

• Photo gallery at navsource.org