| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS YO-257 |
| Launched: | early 1940s[1] |
| Fate: | Scuttled off Hawaii as an artificial reef, 1989 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Oil barge |
| Length: | 165 ft (50 m)[2] |
| Capacity: | 200,000 gallons fuel[1] |
USS YO-257 was a Yard Oiler of the United States Navy that was scuttled two miles off Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii in 1989.[3]
Built in the 1940s, YO-257 saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and in the Vietnam War.
From 16 September to 12 November 1963 the ship was temporarily loaned to the Coast Guard to assist in the construction of a LORAN radio navigation station in Yap, Western Carolines, carrying water-based asphalt to be used for a runway for aircraft servicing the station.[4]
After decommissioning, the ship was purchased by Atlantis Submarines Hawaii, who sank it as an artificial reef. The sea floor surrounding the ship is approximately 100 feet (30 m) deep, and the top deck of the ship is roughly 85 feet (26 m) deep. Directly abeam to the YO-257, colloquially called the YO by area divers, is the San Pedro, intentionally sunk by Atlantis Submarines in 1996. The two ships are visited frequently by Atlantis and are popular dive sites. There is a preponderance of marine life on both ships, mostly turtles and reef sharks, such as the whitetip reef shark.