USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT-1125)

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Lawrence Gianella headed south towards McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Length:	615 feet
Beam:	90 feet
Draft:	36 feet
Displacement:	39,624 long tons
Speed:	16.0 knots
Propulsion:	5 cylinder Sulzer slow-speed diesel

The Lawrence H. Gianella is a United States Military Sealift Command product tanker which typically carries diesel, gasoline, and JP5 (jet fuel). Its reinforced bow allows it to occasionally make the yearly fuel delivery to McMurdo Station in Antarctica:

[edit] Name origin

The vessel is named for Radio Operator Laurence H. Gianella who was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal in 1943 for the heroic action he undertook when his ship was torpedoed on 19th December, 1941 in mid-Pacific. Orders had been given to abandon the rapidly sinking ship but Gianella - realising that his shipmates chances of rescue were slim and dependent on him getting out an SOS message - stayed on board and rigged an emergency radio set, thus sacrificing himself for his shipmates.