Marine Adder T-AP-193

Marine Adder

A merchant name retained.

(T-AP-193: dp. 10,210; 1. 523'; b. 72'; dr. 26'; s. 17 k.;
trp. 3,674; a. none; cl. Marine Adder; T. C4-S-A3)

Marine Adder (T-AP-193) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co., Inc., Richmond, Calif., 7 March 1945; launched 16 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. L. Jorstad; and delivered to her operator, American President Lines, 5 October 1945.

Marine Adder departed San Francisco early in November and sailed to Saipan where she embarked returning servicemen. She arrived San Pedro in early December, thence sailed on a second trooplift 29 December. She steamed to the Marianas, the Philippines, Korea, and Okinawa before returning to Seattle in March 1946. Between April and June she completed a Pacific run to Calcutta, India, and to Sbanghai, China; and, after returning to San Francisco, she entered the Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif., in 1947.

After the Communist invasion of South Korea, Marine Adder was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 24 July 1950 and assigned to MSTS I August 1950. Manned by a civilian crew, she carried combat troops to the Par East and arrived Korean waters 14 December 1950. After returning to the west coast in midJanuary 1951, she resumed her valuable support of the U.N. police action in Korea less than 2 months later and continued Far Eastern runs during the protracted struggle to repel Communist aggression in Asia. Between 6 March 1951 and 5 September 1953 she made 17 voyages out of Seattle to ports in Japan and South Korea, including Yokosuka, Sasebo, Pusan, and Inchon. After reaching San Francisco 5 September 1953 with homewardbound veterans of the Korean conflict, she arrived Seattle 8 September and was placed In reduced operational status.

Marine Adder resumed MSTS service 4 June 1954. During the next 2 months she completed two runs to Japanese and Korean waters; thence, -he departed Seattle 21 August to take part in "Passage-to-Freedom" operations along the coast of French Indochina. Steaming via

Yokosuka, she arrived Haiphong 9 September and embarked Vietnamese fleeing Communist oppression in the North to seek a new life of freedom in the South. Departing 14 September, she made six runs to Vietnamese ports including Saigon and Tourane and during the next 2 months carried refugees, French troops, and military cargo. She departed Vietnamese waters 14 November, touched at Yokosuka the 21st, and reached Seattle 6 December. She resumed reduced operational status 14 December.

On 24 December I955 Marine Adder sailed again for the Par East. She reached Inchon 11 January 1956;,Dperated between Korean and Japanese ports until 21 January; thence returned to Seattle via San Francisco 6 February. Placed in reduced operational status 10 February, she remained at Seattle until 3 June 1957 when she steamed to Astoria, Oreg. 'She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet 8 June 1957 and was transferred permanently to custody of -the Maritime Administration 6 June 1958. Her name was struck from the Navy list 6 June 1958. She was sold to Hudson Waterways Corp., 4 August 1967, converted to a cargo ship, and renamed Transcolorado.

Marine Adder received eight battle stars for Korean service.