NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho (A523)

NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho (A523) is a ship of the Portuguese Navy' Dom Carlos I-class survey vessels (ex-US Stalwart-class surveillance ships adapted in Portugal for the execution of hydrography and oceanography surveys). Before the transference to the Portuguese Navy, Almirante Gago Coutinho was the USNS Assurance (T-AGOS-5) surveillance ship of the United States Navy.

History
USNS Assurance was a Stalwart-class modified tactical auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship of the United States Navy. Stalwart class ships were originally designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold war anti-submarine warfare operations in the 1980s.

In 1999, ex-USNS Assurance was transferred to Portugal and is now NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho survey ship.