Where is the USNS Watkins and why is it there? USNS Watkins at anchor in NYC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia USNS Watkins (T-AKR-315) is one of Military Sealift Command's nineteen Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ships and is part of the 33 ships in the Prepositioning Program. She is a Watson-class vehicle cargo ship.  She was named for Master Sergeant Travis E. Watkins, a Medal of Honor recipient. According to The Guardian the human rights group Reprieve identified the Watkins and sixteen other USN vessels as having held "ghost prisoners" in clandestine extrajudicial detention. Ghost ship....  [sort of reminds me of the story "Man Without a Country  .... John, John Kerry are you there....???.]