January 1972 but was delayed by a collision with a Japanese patrol craft. The LST was undamaged and sailed the next day for Okinawa where the landing ship embarked marines and transported them to Yokosuka, Japan. Following repairs to her bow doors, the ship sailed for the Philippines and arrived at Subic Bay on 16 February. There she loaded a cargo of generators and delivered them to Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam. Tuscaloosa returned to Japan transporting marines and equipment, before she headed back to the Philippines for amphibious exercises. Then, upon completion of these exercises, Tuscaloosa sailed in company with and to Vietnamese waters, arriving on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf on 6 April. The LST remained on station until 3 May sailing for Subic Bay. Tuscaloosa subsequently returned to Vietnam and operated both at Da Nang and on Yankee Station until late May. Following those deployments, the LST was sent to support Thailand contingency operations by transporting Marine Corps equipment and Navy construction battalion tools. Tuscaloosa ended its 10-month deployment, returning to the United States. Tuscaloosa engaged in routine operations off the California coast into mid-1973. On 29 August, the ship deployed to WestPac with Project Handclasp material for delivery to communities in the Philippines. Tuscaloosa later participated in Operation Pagasa II in conjunction with units of the Philippine Navy and operated out of Subic Bay for the remainder of the year with port calls at Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 1974 began with naval exercises with South Korean naval units in Operation Fly Away and departed for the United States on 11 February 1974 via Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Tuscaloosas underwent a major overhaul by the Todd Pacific Shipyards at Seattle, Washington beginning on 9 July. On 3 August an 11-man rescue and assistance party from the ship assisted in saving from sinking after the naval ship collided with another vessel in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Once Tuscaloosas own repairs and overhaul were completed, the LST rejoined the fleet on 12 December resumed routine operations into 1975. The ship deployed to WestPac on 1 April accompanied from San Diego by Korean mine craft and . At this time the situation in Southeast Asia deteriorated rapidly for the United States. Both the US-backed South Vietnamese and Cambodian governments were tottering and their forces retreating. Tuscaloosa arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 April and proceeded on toward the