Another giant Navy oiler named for a civil rights icon — the future USNS Sojourner Truth — was christened and launched Saturday night at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in Barrio Logan.
The vessel is the sixth built by NASSCO under the John Lewis-Class fleet oiler program, which will eventually number 20 ships crewed by civilians that replenish Navy warships at sea.
Before the ships’ launch, Sojourner Truth’s sixth-generation granddaughter, Barbara M. Allen, cracked a bottle of champagne on the hull to christen the vessel.
“On behalf of my family, I would like to sincerely thank you for welcoming us and allowing us to share in this special moment. Sojourner was far more than a pioneer. She was a beacon of hope, an abolitionist, a champion for women’s rights and a warrior for justice,” Allen said.
Barbara M. Allen breaking a champagne bottle to christen the USNS Sojourner Truth. (Photo from General Dynamics NASSCO livestream)Truth escaped from slavery with her daughter in 1826 and went on to fight for abolition and human rights, through speeches that became widely known, such as “Ain’t I a Woman?” During the Civil War, she recruited Black troops for the Union Army and worked to secure land grants for those freed from slavery, though the “forty acres and a mule” promise never came to fruition.
“The first engagement by peoples of different cultures with American values and our inherent goodness often happens with the Navy,” said Dr. Brett A. Seidle, performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy. “And for that reason, how we carry ourselves, the way we lead, our grace and empathy are incredibly important to always be on display, and I can think of no better representation of that than of Sojourner Truth.”
The ship spans the length of two and a half football fields and has the capability to carry nearly seven million gallons of ship and aviation fuel.
NASSCO President David J. Carver described the new vessel as “an impressive feat of modern engineering and construction.”
Three more oilers are under construction in the shipyard, and two additional ships are under contract.
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