New Jersey Scuba Diving

AOG-33 Ochlockonee ( A river that flows through Georgia and Florida )

Displacement: 846 tons (light) 2,270 tons (full load )
Length: 220' 6"
Beam: 37'
Draft: 17'
Speed: 10 kts.
Complement: 62
Armament: 1 x 3"/50 dual purpose, 2 x 40mm, 3 x 20mm
Cargo Capacity: 1,228 DWT
Propulsion: diesel direct drive, single screw, 720hp

History:

The USS Ochlockonee was a Mettawee-Class gasoline tanker. She was formerly MC Hull 1530, and was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract 18 October 1944 by East Coast Shipyard, Inc., Bayonne, New Jersey; launched 19 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Albert Robinette; acquired by the Navy 18 December 1944; and commissioned 29 December 1944 with a Coast Guard crew, Lt. Arthur W. Walker, USCG, in command.

Following shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay, Ochlockonee departed Norfolk 15 February 1945 for Hawaii via Aruba, the Panama Canal, and San Diego, arriving 14 April. Operating out of Pearl Harbor for the remainder of the war, Ochlockonee made fueling runs among the Hawaiians and to Johnston and Canton Islands.

She decommissioned at San Pedro, Calif., 14 January 1946, and was struck from the Navy List 7 February. Returned to the Maritime Administration on 21 June and sold for commercial service. Owned by various companies including Texaco Oil Company which renamed her Texaco No. 10. Later renamed Vincent Tibbetts. Laid up in 2001. Final disposition: sunk as an artificial reef, September 5 2002, off the New Jersey coast.

-- from Coast Guard and Navy historical records