The ship was laid down on 5 May 1977 by the Marinette Marine Corp. of Marinette, Wisconsin. Launched on 12 May 1979, and delivered to the Navy on 9 November 1979, Narragansett was assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), and placed in service as USNS Narragansett (T-ATF-167). She participated in the search for the remains of the downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983.