JS Amakusa

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JS Amakusa is a Hiuchi-class Auxiliary Multi-purpose Support (AMS) ship of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Built by Universal in Keihin, it was laid down on 3 December 2002, launched 6 August 2003, and commissioned on 16 March 2004. Its home port is Sasebo. The ship’s MMSI is 431999677. It weighs about 980 long tons (roughly 1,000 metric tons), is 65 meters long, with a beam of 12.0 meters, a height of 5.8 meters, and a draft of 3.5 meters. It runs on diesel and can reach about 15 knots.

Amakusa’s main role is to support training for other ships, including shooting practice and torpedo launches. It helped with disaster relief after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami by towing barges of fresh water from Yokosuka to Fukushima to assist cooling efforts at the plant. On 22 May 2022, Amakusa conducted surveillance on a PLAN destroyer near Miyako Island.