The ship was laid down as type T2-A tanker SS Aekay, M.C. hull 148 on 12 June 1941 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. of Chester, Pennsylvania; launched on 11 October 1941; sponsored by Miss Barbara Vickery of Washington, D.C.; acquired by the Navy on 20 July 1941; and commissioned as Neches on 16 September 1942.