USNS New Bedford (FS-289/AKL-17) was a Navy owned Military Sea Transportation Service civilian crewed Camano-class cargo ship originally constructed for the U.S. Army as the coastal freighter FS-289 shortly before the end of World War II.

[3] New Bedford's shakedown cruise initially took her across the central Pacific Ocean to Midway Islands, Guam and Saipan.

The New Bedford is also the sister ship of the ill-fated USS Pueblo, which was captured by the North Koreans in 1968 and whose crew was imprisoned for 11 months.

The ship then served out of the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts servicing the U.S. Air Force Texas Towers with equipment, food, petroleum, oils, and lubricant and other required supplies.

[6] The ship was placed out of service in 1963 and then was reclassified Miscellaneous Unclassified, (IX-308) where it was deployed to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport, Washington for torpedo testing duty and assigned service-craft status.

The (IX-308) served as a Torpedo Test Firing Vessel and during this assignment she steamed over 310,000 nautical miles[citation needed].

The Mayor of the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the Honorable Rosemary Tierney, was in attendance along with retired Navy Captain Frederick R. Purrington.

Schultz, or rather Pulver, launched the unsuspecting palm over the pier in one final act of defiance as well as in celebration and honor of the New Bedford IX-308.