The following is a summary of NOAA ship operations in March and April 2024.
Bell M. Shimada completed a Northern California Current ecosystem forecasting survey off of Newport, Oregon, and transited to San Diego, California, while conducting the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CalCOFI) survey, which surveys the distributions and abundances of pelagic fish stocks, their prey, and their biotic and abiotic environments. In April, the ship is expected to continue the CalCOFI survey and transit from San Diego to San Francisco, California.
Fairweather is drydocked for annual repairs in Seattle, Washington, until mid-April. Following repair, the ship is expected to undergo operational readiness training before transiting to Ketchikan, Alaska, for charting and mapping missions in Southeast Alaska.
Ferdinand R. Hassler completed operational readiness and hydrographic readiness training while underway from Norfolk, Virginia, to Charleston, South Carolina. In April, the ship is expected to support Atlantic habitat charting and mapping missions off of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Gordon Gunter transited from Las Palmas, Spain, Canary Islands to Suape, Brazil, while conducting a part of the Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic Northeast Extension project, which will continue in April. During the project, scientists collect atmospheric-ocean data from Pascagoula, Mississippi to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Puerto de Tenerife, Spain.
Henry B. Bigelow underwent gear calibration before completing a leg of their Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Spring Bottom Trawl Survey, which will continue in April. The NEFSC Spring Bottom Trawl Survey monitors fish abundance and distribution on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf.
Nancy Foster completed underway operational readiness training while transiting from South Carolina, to Pensacola, Florida, before beginning leg one of the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Community Restoration mission project. In April, the ship is expected to complete leg two of the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Community Restoration mission project.
Okeanos Explorer is drydocked at a shipyard in Vallejo, California, for its winter repair period until mid April. Upon repair completion, the ship is expected to conduct underway operational readiness training before beginning the CAPSTONE II 2024 Mapping Shakedown and High Seas Mapping survey. The mapping shakedown tests the ship’s mission systems and equipment before focusing on the survey mission of mapping high priority deepwater areas of the remote Pacific.
Oregon II is alongside the Gulf Marine Support Facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi, following completion of an underway fleet inspection. In April, the ship is expected to support the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) Spring Plankton survey.
Oscar Dyson completed leg three of the Alaska Pollock winter survey project, which included surveys off the coasts of Shumagin Islands, Sanak Trough, and Bogoslof Island. The ship began the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Forecast survey from Kodiak, Alaska, in late March and will continue in April.
Oscar Elton Sette is underway for the Bigeye Oceanography Survey around the Hawaiian Islands, which will continue in April. The ship completed the Main Hawaiian Islands Insular Bottomfish Survey around the Hawaiian Islands earlier in March.
Pisces is underway for the SEAMAP Reef Fish survey, which will continue through April. Rainier is alongside Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, undergoing repair work. Survey launches are expected to begin in the Northern Puget Sound in April.
Reuben Lasker is underway for the Consortium in the Ocean’s Role in Climate mooring project following dockside repairs in San Diego, California. In April, the ship is expected to conduct operational readiness training and grooming/calibration of its dynamic positioning system. The ship is drydocked at the Bollinger shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for its midlife repair period. The ship is expected to be back online in September 2024.
Thomas Jefferson is alongside the NOAA Marine Operations Center - Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia, preparing for the 2024 operation season. In April, Thomas Jefferson is expected to depart for a survey of the approaches to Savannah, Georgia.
*As of March 31, 2024
United States