JUNE 8, 2026 – Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) newest fleet replenishment oiler USNS Thurgood Marshall (T-AO 211), was christened during a ceremony at the General DynamicsNASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif., today, the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
The event was attended by former Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro; Maj. Gen. David Bligh, Judge Advocate General of the Navy; Vice Adm. Douglas Verissimo, commander, Naval Air Forces/commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, commander, Military Sealift Command; Capt. Dustin Lonero, commander, Military Sealift Command Pacific; Capt. Andrew Graff, the ship’s civil service master; Thurgood Marshall, Jr and John Marshall, sons of Thurgood Marshall; executives and employees of NASSCO San Diego; members and friends of the Marshall family; and students from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Chula Vista, Calif.
The ship honors Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights leader, turned Supreme Court Justice. Marshall made history as the first black justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court when he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1967 and served on the court for 25 years. He is most remembered for his work toward affirmative action, stopping Jim Crow segregation and the landmark caseBrown v. Board of Education.
“Justice Thurgood Marshall was the epitome of a trailblazer. He exemplified the timeless principle of service before self and embodied the power of moral truth,” said Nicholson in his remarks. “It is a profound honor that this ship will carry his name, a name that will sail proudly across the world’s oceans for decades to come.”
The official christening moment happened when the ship’s -sponsors, Melonie Tibbs and Cecilia Marshall, granddaughters of Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Alissa Kamens, Marshall’s granddaughter-in-law, broke a bottle of champagne against the ship’s hull with the words, “For the United States of America, I christen you the USNS Thurgood Marshall. May God bless this ship and all who sail on her.”
The 746-foot Truth is the seventh ship of the John Lewis fleet replenishment oiler class. Marshall has the ability to carry 162,000 barrels of diesel ship fuel, aviation fuel and dry stores cargo. The John Lewis class is built with double hulls to protect against oil spills and strengthened cargo and ballast tanks and will be equipped with a basic self-defense capability. The Lewis-class of oilers will replace the current Kaiser class fleet replenishment oilers as they age out of the MSC fleet.
“Ships like this are not built by chance. They are forged in our industrial base, integrated into our fleet, and ready to sail hundreds of thousands of miles from home,” said Verissimo. “USNS Thurgood Marshall, and other ships like this one, represent the final growth of our fleet, enabling those who stand the watch to defend our nation.”
Marshall is one of 17 ships that have been formally procured or placed under contract in the Lewis-class of oilers. In July 2016, US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that he would name the Lewis-class oilers after prominent civil rights activists and leaders including, Lucy Stone, Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Sojourner Truth, Earl Warren, Robert F. Kennedy and Harriet Tubman.
“In years ahead, USNS Thurgood Marshall will sail over the horizon in defense of our constitution and our way of life,” said Bligh. “It will carry the fuel that powers our Navy and our forces operating across the world. It will transfer millions of gallons of fuel and tons of critical supplies to our combatants at-sea, and she will ensure that our strike groups and other combatants will remain can on station projecting our nation’s sea power indefinitely. She will carry the dedicated professionals of the Military Sealift Command as they sail through contested waters, taking care of our underway Sailors and Marines, and she will do her part in support of our homeland.”
MSC directs and supports operations for approximately 140 civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, conduct specialized missions, preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, perform a variety of support services, and move military equipment and supplies to deployed U.S. forces. MSC exists to support the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations, with a workforce that includes approximately 6,000 Civil Service Mariners and 1,100 contract mariners, supported by 1,500 shore staff and 1,400 active duty and reserve military personnel.
Story by Sarah Cannon
Military Sealift Command Pacific