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By daybreak
Published: July 20, 2007
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NOAA Research Vessel Fleet Modernization
NOAA has major vessel construction projects underway. The agency's fleet modernization program that will provide users with improved information gathering capabilities.This comes at a critical time as the 2006 average fleet age has grown to 27 years. By comparision, the 2002 average age of NOAA's fleet was 41 years.
NOAA has set a goal to reduce the average fleet age to 20 by 2009. The younger fleet of ships will be managed and maintained by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Vessel names were chosen through a NOAA regional student ship-naming contest sponsored by NOAA's Office of Education.
R/V Henry B. Bigelow was commissioned on July 16 in Norfolk, VA. Exceeding tough international acoustic-quieting standards, the ship's dramatically lower background noise levels will greatly enhance NOAA's ability to count fish and assess the size, health and behavior of stocks. NOAA and the U.S. military lead the world in operating quieter ships, providing a model for other marine-related industries. There is scientific consensus that underwater sound affects the behavior of marine species that depend on sound as a primary means of navigation, feeding and other essential activities.
R/V Bigelow is another new NOAA research vessel. The boat will conduct surveys in support of the Northeast Science Center in Woods Hole. A similar boat, R/
V Oscar Dyson is stationed in Alaska, serving the Alaska Science Center. These ships are part of a series of four new, acoustically quiet, modern, research vessels.
R/V Pisces will be the third of four fisheries vessels. Curently under construction, the Pisces will provide additional capability to NOAA in the Gulf and South Atlantic.
In 2007, NOAA and Halter Marine, the shipbuilder, celebrated the keel laying for the Ferdinand R. Hassler. The boat is a twin-hull coastal mapping vessel. R/V Bell M. Shimada is the last of the four new NOAA fisheries research vessels.
The Bell Shimada will support the NOAA Fisheries Service Northwest and Southwest Science Centers. R/V Hassler will map Atlantic, Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Great Lakes waters.
The new vessels are said to feature state-of-the-art technologies which will help NOAA more efficiently chart ocean waters and acess fish stocks.
For more information, visit: www.omao.noaa.gov.
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Published: July 20, 2007
Print
EmailNOAA Research Vessel Fleet Modernization
NOAA has major vessel construction projects underway. The agency's fleet modernization program that will provide users with improved information gathering capabilities.This comes at a critical time as the 2006 average fleet age has grown to 27 years. By comparision, the 2002 average age of NOAA's fleet was 41 years.
NOAA has set a goal to reduce the average fleet age to 20 by 2009. The younger fleet of ships will be managed and maintained by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Vessel names were chosen through a NOAA regional student ship-naming contest sponsored by NOAA's Office of Education.
R/V Henry B. Bigelow was commissioned on July 16 in Norfolk, VA. Exceeding tough international acoustic-quieting standards, the ship's dramatically lower background noise levels will greatly enhance NOAA's ability to count fish and assess the size, health and behavior of stocks. NOAA and the U.S. military lead the world in operating quieter ships, providing a model for other marine-related industries. There is scientific consensus that underwater sound affects the behavior of marine species that depend on sound as a primary means of navigation, feeding and other essential activities.
R/V Bigelow is another new NOAA research vessel. The boat will conduct surveys in support of the Northeast Science Center in Woods Hole. A similar boat, R/
V Oscar Dyson is stationed in Alaska, serving the Alaska Science Center. These ships are part of a series of four new, acoustically quiet, modern, research vessels.
R/V Pisces will be the third of four fisheries vessels. Curently under construction, the Pisces will provide additional capability to NOAA in the Gulf and South Atlantic.
In 2007, NOAA and Halter Marine, the shipbuilder, celebrated the keel laying for the Ferdinand R. Hassler. The boat is a twin-hull coastal mapping vessel. R/V Bell M. Shimada is the last of the four new NOAA fisheries research vessels.
The Bell Shimada will support the NOAA Fisheries Service Northwest and Southwest Science Centers. R/V Hassler will map Atlantic, Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Great Lakes waters.
The new vessels are said to feature state-of-the-art technologies which will help NOAA more efficiently chart ocean waters and acess fish stocks.
For more information, visit: www.omao.noaa.gov.
Discuss this article in the Forum!
Submit Article