Manned by a civil service crew, Alatna carried petroleum products from ports along the Atlantic and gulf coasts and in the Caribbean Sea to scattered American outposts in both polar regions. For more than 15 years, the tanker and her crew struggled against snow, wind, and ice to support American military bases in the Arctic and American scientists in the Antarctic. On 8 August 1972, Alatna was placed out of service and laid up with the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California.
The Alatna Valley in the Antarctic was named after this ship.
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