USCGC Sassafras

USCGC Sassafras, 1967.
History
United States
Laid down16 August 1943
Launched5 October 1943
Commissioned23 May 1944
Decommissioned31 October 2003
MottoMare Laboramus
Nickname(s)Sass
FateTransferred to the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Nigeria
NameNNS Obula (A 504)
Commissioned2003
IdentificationMMSI number: 657711000
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class & typeIris (C)
Displacement1,025 long tons (1,041 t)
Length180 ft (55 m)
Beam37 ft (11 m)
Draft12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion2 × Westinghouse generators driven by 2 Cooper-Bessemer GND8 diesel engines
Speed13.5 kn (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) maximum
Range12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi)
Complement48
Armament2 × .50 cal

Sassafras is a C-Class, 180-foot (55 m), seagoing buoy tender constructed for the United States Coast Guard by Marine Iron & Shipbuilding Corp. of Duluth, Minnesota. Sassafras was one of 39 tenders commissioned for duties that would include aids-to-navigation, ice breaking, search-and-rescue, firefighting, law enforcement, providing fuel and potable water, and assistance to the National Oceanographic and Seismographic Survey.