USS Maury (AGS-16) was a hydrographic surveying ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1969. The ship was originally laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC Hull 1897) as USS Renate (AKA-36) on 21 November 1944 at Providence, R.I., by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.; launched on 31 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph L. Baker; and commissioned at State Pier No.1, Providence, on 28 February 1945. Renate was an Artemis-class attack cargo ship named after the minor planet 575 Renate. "Renate" is a female German surname derived from Latin "renatus" (= born again). The ship was later converted for hydrographic missions and renamed Maury (AGS-16) in 1946, named after the astronomer and hydrographer Matthew Fontaine Maury.