Name USNS Andrew J. Higgins Laid down 21 November 1985 Construction started 21 November 1985 Length 206 m | Ordered 22 November 1983 In service 22 October 1987 Launched 17 January 1987 | |
 | ||
Namesake Andrew Higgins (1886-1952), an American shipbuilder Builder Avondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
USNS Andrew J. Higgins (T-AO-190) was a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler of the United States Navy which saw active service from 1987 to 1996. Sold to Chile in 2009, she was commissioned as Almirante Montt in the Chilean Navy in 2010.
Contents
Construction and career
Andrew J. Higgins, the fourth ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 21 November 1985 and launched on 17 January 1987. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under Military Sealift Command control with a primarily civilian crew on 22 October 1987. She was named for Andrew Higgins, the man credited with developing the LCVP or "Higgins Boat" landing craft of World War II.
Inactivation
Andrew J. Higgins was taken out of active service on 6 May 1996 and placed in reserve in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay at Benicia, California, where she remained until September 2009. She was the first ship of her class to be taken out of service.
Transfer to Chile and service
In 2008, Andrew J. Higgins was selected for transfer to Chile as a Foreign Assistance Act grant. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 6 January 2009 and sold to Chile on 19 May 2009. She was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay on 24 September 2009 and towed to the Atlantic Marine Alabama shipyard at Mobile, Alabama, to undergo a three-month refit and overhaul.
Renamed Almirante Montt with the identification number AO-52, the oiler was commissioned in the Chilean Navy on 10 February 2010, replacing the oiler Araucano.
In an effort to address the Royal Canadian Navy’s at-sea support services capability gap until the arrival of Royal Canadian Navy’s new Queenston-class supply ships, Canada signed a Mutual Logistic Support Arrangement in 2015 with Chile. As part of that arrangement the Chilean Navy operated Almirante Montt for 40 sea days in the Canadian Pacific region in support to Royal Canadian Navy training requirements in July and August, working with HMCS Calgary and HMCS Vancouver. Almirante Montt returned to Canada in 2016, sailing with the Royal Canadian Navy from April to June.