NOAA Other service Enhanced
NOAA Ship Fleet (Marine Operations Center)
Fleet of NOAA research and survey ships managed by the Marine Operations Center for charting, fisheries and oceanographic and atmospheric data collection.
Description
Since the 1850s NOAA and its predecessor agencies (the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries) have operated ships to gather data for nautical charts, locate submerged obstructions and navigation hazards, collect fisheries management data and observe ocean and atmospheric conditions. The fleet is managed by NOAA's Marine Operations Center, formally established in 1999, and staffed by civilian crew and officers of the NOAA Corps.
Key features
- Marine Operations Center-Pacific (Seattle): four ships homeported at Seattle, three in Hawaii and one each in San Diego, Kodiak and Ketchikan
- Marine Operations Center-Atlantic (Norfolk, Virginia): eight research and survey vessels homeported at Norfolk, Pascagoula, Woods Hole and Charleston
- As of early 2007, 19 active ships from coastal vessels for estuarine and near-shore research to deep-water oceanographic ships
- Planned relocation of four Atlantic fleet research vessels to Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, with a new pier, small boat floating dock, bulkhead and shoreside facilities
Applications
- Nautical charting and hazard location
- Fisheries data collection
- Oceanographic and atmospheric research
Specifications
| Active ships (early 2007) | 19 |
|---|---|
| Operating centres | Seattle, Norfolk |
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