Shakori ATF-162

Shakori
(ATF-162: dp. 1,675 (f.), 1. 205'0", b. 38'6", dr. 15'4" (f.); s. 16.5 k.(tl.), cpl. 85; a. 1 3", 2 40mm.;cl. Navajo)

Shakori (ATF-162)—a fleet ocean tug laid down on 9 May 1945 by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. at Charleston, S.C.—was launched on 9 August 1945; and commissioned on 20 December 1945, Lt. William L. Sloan in command.

Since then, the major portion of Shakori's long Navy career has been spent in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. The tug has performed towing services all along the Atlantic seaboard and has often been called upon to tow targets for naval gunnery exercises.

On three occasions, Shakori has departed from her normal routine. In October and November of 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, she assisted in the evacuation of dependents from Guantanamo Bay by transporting clothes to the evacuees on the high seas. Following that, she spent three weeks at Miami, Fla.,
as the crisis wore on to its conclusion. The second and third departures from routine came in 1966 and 1967. In 1966, the tug circumnavigated the globe, completing the Navy's second-longest bow, 11,000 miles, en route. In 1967, after returning to Little Creek, Va., for overhaul and training, she deployed to the Mediterranean for almost six months on 18 January.

On 3 June 1967, Shakori returned to Little Creek, Va., and resumed her Atlantic Caribbean bowing routine. This she has continued through 1974 and, as of 31 July, is inport at Little Creek, Va.