MV ''Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr.'' (AK-3000), (former MV ''Estelle Mærsk''), was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the built in 1979. The ship is named after

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

Louis J. Hauge Jr. Corporal Louis James Hauge Jr. (December 12, 1924 – May 14, 1945) was a United States Marine who posthumously received his nation's highest military honor — the Medal of Honor — for his actions during the Battle of Okinawa in Wor ...

, an American

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Construction and commissioning

The ship was built in 1979 at the Odense Staalskibsvaerft A/S,

Lindø Odense Steel Shipyard ( da, Odense Staalskibsværft) was a Danish shipyard company located in Odense. It was best known for building container ships for its parent group, A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, including the Mærsk E class in 2006 whic ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

. She was put into the service of

Maersk Line Maersk Line or Maersk SeaLand is a Danish international container shipping company and the largest operating subsidiary of the Maersk Group, a Danish business conglomerate. Founded in 1928, it is the world's largest container shipping company b ...

as ''Estelle Mærsk''. In 1985, she was acquired and chartered by the Navy under a long-term contract as MV ''Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr.'' (AK-3000). The ship underwent conversion at the

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

Sparrows Point Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. She was assigned to Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron 3 and supported the US Marine Corps Expeditionary Brigade. On 1 May 1986, the ship was anchored in

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Sub ...

during Exercise Freedom Banner 1986. On 16 August 1990, ''Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr.'' carried equipments that would later be used during

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. On 20 August 2008, she was part of the Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT) exercises. In 2009, the ship returned to Maersk Line as MV ''Abby G''.

Sealift Inc. Sealift Incorporated is an American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York.Sealift Inc 2008, ''Home Page''. The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives. Sealift Inc. is one o ...

later acquired the ship in 2010 and operated the ship with the same name until August of later that year, in which she was towed to

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Ala ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

for scrap.

Awards

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr. Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr.-class cargo ship 1979 ships Ships built in Denmark Gulf War ships of the United States Merchant ships of the United States Cargo ships of the United States Navy Container ships of the United States Navy