USNS Asterion (T-AF-63)

USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) was an Asterion-class stores ship acquired by the United States Navy in 1961. Her task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas.

Pre-commissioning activity
The second vessel to be named Asterion by the US Navy, AF-63 was laid down under a United States Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 41) on 10 June 1944 at Los Angeles, California, by the California Shipbuilding Corporation., as Arcadia Victory. Launched on 27 July 1944 and sponsored by Mrs. James T. Wishart, Arcadia Victory was delivered to her operators, the American President Lines (APL), on 3 September 1944. She operated under the APL shipping line's flag until laid up late in 1952.

Acquired by the Navy
Removed from the National Defense Reserve Fleet berthing area at Suisun Bay, California, on 7 November 1961, Arcadia Victory was acquired by the US Navy from the United States Maritime Commissionon 12 November 1961. Renamed Asterion and classified as a store ship, AF-63, on 4 December 1961, the ship was taken to the Willamette Iron and Steel Company. of Portland, Oregon, where she underwent conversion to a refrigerated stores ship.

Assigned to MSTS
Placed in service with the US Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service, (MSTS) (later Military Sealift Command, (MSC) in September 1962 as USNS Asterion (T-AF-63), the ship operated in the MSTS (later, MSC), Pacific Area, delivering fresh and frozen foods to Pacific and Far Eastern ports. On 5 June 1963, Asterion suffered minor damage to her bow in a collision off San Francisco, California, with the Japanese freighter MV Kokoku Maru. The USCGC Magnolia (WLB-328) from US Coast Guard Base Yerba Buena Island San Francisco California responded to the vessels distress calls and provided assistance for both ships. The MV Kokoku Maru sustained heavy damage, and the USCGC Magnolia (WLB-328) evacuated 19 her crew to San Francisco California.

Carrying "everything from steak and spuds, to mobile cranes and dynamite," Asterion; the winner of the MSTS "Smart Ship Award" in 1967, operated in the Pacific Ocean for the next decade; her ports of call ranged from Settahip, Thailand, and Saigon, South Vietnam, to Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, and Yokohama. As American involvement in the Vietnam War grew, Asterion's itinerary included the ports of Qui Nhon, Cam Ranh Bay, and Danang.

Decommissioning
Asterion arrived at Yokohama on 8 June 1973 from her last voyage as a "reefer ship" and her name was struck from the Navy list on 15 June 1973. Transferred, at Yokohama Japan, to the Maritime Administration for disposal, she was sold to N. W. Kennedy, Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 31 August 1973. Final Disposition: fate unknown.