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USS Utina (ATF-163)
Encyclopedia
USS Utina (ATF-163) was an Abnaki-class
Abnaki class fleet ocean tug
The Abnaki class is a class of United States Navy fleet ocean tugs which began construction in November 1942. The class comprises 22 ocean going tugboats. The ships were constructed in response to the needs of World War II, but members of the class served in the Korean War and Vietnam War as well...
of fleet ocean tug
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
. It was named after Olata Ouae Utina (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1565), a leading chief of the now-extinct Utina
Utina
The Utina, also known as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca tribe, were a Timucua chiefdom in northern Florida during the 16th century. The name given to them by their enemies, Thimogona, may be the origin of the word Timucua, now applied to the whole group of related tribes who lived in northern...
tribe of Timucua
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...
Indians who occupied the territory along the middle reaches of the St. Johns River
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
near the present-day site of St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
.
The Utina was laid down on 6 June 1945 at Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Company; launched on 31 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Jonathan Yerkes; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
at the Charleston Navy Yard, on 30 January 1946, Lt.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
A. J. Vetro in command.
Since commissioning, the major portion of Utinas long Navy career was spent in the western Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and in the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. She carried out a variety of towing missions, helping damaged ships into port, towing decommissioned ships to berthing areas, towing targets for gunnery exercises, and the like. Throughout her active career, Utina was closely associated with the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Right after commissioning, she conducted her shakedown training out of that port, and when she completed it, Guantanamo Bay became her home port for over five years. In 1951, she was reassigned to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
but continued to deploy each year to the base in Cuba for several weeks of operations—frequently in conjunction with the annual "Springboard" fleet exercises held in the West Indies. She was at Guantanamo Bay in February of 1964 when Cuban Premier Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
cut off the base's water supply. When the United States government decided to respond by permanently serving the water link to illustrate the base's self sufficiency, Utina played an important role by bringing in Guantanamo Bay's first potable water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
before two large tankers could be activated for the purpose.
Throughout her quarter of a century of service with the Navy, Utina altered her routine of operations along the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies only twice. In May 1965, she embarked upon her only deployment to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Her missions, however, remained the same though the emphasis shifted to target towing for 6th Fleet surface gunnery exercises. She returned to Norfolk in early October 1965 and resumed 2d Fleet services once more. Her second departure from her primary zone of operations came in June 1967 when she steamed to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
to assist USS Aeolus (ARC-3)
USS Aeolus (ARC-3)
USS Aeolus began service as , an built by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island. In the mid-1950s, she was converted into a cable repair ship to support the SOSUS program, as the lead ship of the , and she performed cable duties for nearly thirty years.- Function :The Aeolus has...
in a special project. The tug returned to Norfolk on 13 July 1967 and resumed east coast-West Indies operations for the remaining four years of her career.
On 3 September 1971, Utina was decommissioned at Norfolk, and she was transferred, on a loan basis, to the Venezuelan Navy
Navy of Venezuela
The navy of Venezuela is officially called the Bolivarian National Armada of Venezuela .It serves the purpose of defending the naval sovereignty of the country, including inland, fluvial security, it also serves to prevent illegal activities in the Venezuelan borders and contributes with...
. She was commissioned as Felipe Larrazabal (R 21) and served in the Venezuelan Navy until December 1977. At that time, she was returned to the United States Navy, retransferred to Venezuela on a sale basis, and her name was struck from the Navy list—all simultaneously. As of the beginning of 1980, she was still active with the Venezuelan Navy.