NORTH WEST.
Navy Oilers derived their names from Cities, Mountains and the Rivers shown in yellow.
OILERS ARE DETAILED BELOW    -    BORDER STATES ARE LINKED


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AO = Fleet Oiler Ship.       AOE = Fast Support Ship.    
Ship Name
Crew Link
 Ship Numbe
NavSource Link
 Construction
Data
 River Name
Data
USS Seattle

AOE-3

 Launched,
1 March, 1968
Chief Seattle, considered the greatest of all the Puget Sound Indians, was born at the campsite of his ancestors on Blake Island in 1786. His father was Chief Schweabe of the Shuamish Indians.
TAO-164 was renamed "Seattle"
USNS Rainier
2009 TOUR

AOE-7

 Launched,
28 September, 1991
Rainier is named for Mount Rainier or "Tahoma" and is the third supply ship to bear the name. The mountain was named after Rear Admiral Peter Rainier of the Royal Navy.

USNS Columbia

TAO-182

 Launched, 1971 Rainier There have been many ships named Columbia and there are several places named Columbia. This author chooses to identify this ship with the Columbia River that originates in Canada, passes through the state of Washington and also borders Oregon. The river is named after the columbia Rediviva, the first ship from the western world known to have traveled up the river.

USS Chiwawa


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King of the Oilers

AO-68

 Launched,
25 June, 1942
The Chiwawa River originates in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the North Cascades, on the southern slopes of Chiwawa Mountain and Fortress Mountain. It flows south through the Wenatchee National Forest, between Chiwawa Ridge to the west and the Entiat Mountains to the east. 

USS Elokomin

AO-55


 Launched,
19 October, 1943
The name was given by the local Indians and means “lost hunter or chief”.
USNS Abiqua TAO-158 Acquired by Navy,
21 December, 1956



Abiqua Creek is a tributary of the Pudding River in the U.S. state of Oregon.  Flowing roughly thirty miles from its headwaters high in the foothills of the Cascade mountainsconfluence in the fertile farmland of the Willamette Valley. in northwestern Oregon.
USS Willamette AO-180
 Launched,
18 July, 1981


 The Willamette River was earlier spelled 'Wallamet' and is thought to be of native American origin. It is 187 miles (301 km) long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States.Flowing northward between the Oregon Coast Range and Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form a basin called the Willamette Valley containing 70 percent of Oregon's population, including its largest city Portland, which sits along both sides of the river near its mouth on the Columbia.
USS Millicoma AO-73 Launched, 21 January, 1943 Millicoma is a tributary  N.E. off Coos east of Coos Bay.
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