VT HALTER MARINE AND NOAA LAUNCH
HI-TECH FISHERIES SURVEY VESSEL;
ANNOUNCE CONTRACT AWARD FOR SECOND VESSEL
Oct.
17, 2003 — VT Halter Marine Inc. and NOAA
today launched the first of four planned NOAA fisheries survey vessels.
Christened Oscar Dyson by Mrs. Peggy Dyson-Malson, wife of the late Alaska
fisheries industry leader for whom it is named, the ship will be one of
the most technologically advanced fisheries survey vessels in the world.
(Click NOAA image for larger view of FSV (Fisheries Survey Vessel)
Oscar Dyson being launched at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Moss Point,
Miss. Click here for high
resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”
Click here
to view video of launch.)
Senator
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the scheduled keynote speaker, was unable to attend
the ceremony at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Moss Point, Miss., because
of a late-breaking vote on the senate floor. The senator was instrumental
in gaining congressional funding for the new ship; his wife, Catherine
Stevens, is a sponsor of Oscar Dyson. (Click NOAA image for larger
view of FSV Oscar Dyson launch ceremony at the VT Halter Marine shipyard
in Moss Point, Miss. Click here
for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)
"Oscar
Dyson was a North Pacific fisheries pioneer and an industry leader and
a great personal friend,” Stevens said from his Washington, D.C.
office. “It is an honor to his memory and for Alaska to have this
NOAA research vessel named after him. The community of Kodiak will be
proud to have this vessel honoring one of its favorite sons homeported
in their harbor.”
At
the ceremony, retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad
C. Lautenbacher Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere
and NOAA administrator, announced that NOAA has exercised its contract
option with VT Halter Marine Inc. to build a second fisheries survey vessel
of the same design for $38.8 million. VT Halter Marine began construction
of the new ship (FSV #2) yesterday, kicking it off with a steel-cutting
ceremony. FSV #2 will replace Albatross IV in New England, which is more
than 40 years old. (Click NOAA image for larger view of retired
Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., undersecretary of commerce
for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, who was the keynote
speaker at the launch of the FSV Oscar Dyson at the VT Halter Marine shipyard
in Moss Point, Miss. Click
here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit
“NOAA.”)
Approximately
150 VT Halter Marine employees will be working on the two NOAA ships over
the next three years. If the additional two planned FSVs are funded, that
time span will extend to more than six years.
“Improvement
of marine fisheries management is one of the President’s four core
focuses for the Department of Commerce as well as a NOAA strategic goal,”
Lautenbacher said. “Launching Oscar Dyson today and exercising the
option for the second vessel are both important steps forward in supporting
this goal with modern platforms. These ships will provide higher quality
data to fisheries managers about targeted fish populations and the environment
that sustains them.” (Click NOAA image for larger view of
Peggy Dyson-Malson, widow of Oscar Dyson, who christened the FSV Oscar
Dyson at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Moss Point, Miss. Click
here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit
“NOAA.”)
“VT
Halter Marine’s unique ability to design and construct sophisticated
‘quiet’ oceanic research vessels such as the Oscar Dyson is
recognized globally and affirmed by the fact that NOAA selected us for
this very significant program,” said Boyd King, VT Halter Marine
chief executive officer. “The Oscar Dyson is a leading edge research
vessel with the ability to conduct fisheries research and oceanography
simultaneously throughout the world’s oceans.”
The
christening and launching of a ship is the second major milestone in its
construction (the keel laying is the first). Oscar Dyson is expected to
be commissioned and become operational in late 2004. The ship, which will
not replace an existing NOAA ship, will be home ported in Kodiak, Alaska;
its primary mission will be to monitor the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska
fisheries and ecosystems, particularly the multi-billion dollar Alaskan
pollock fishery, one of the nation’s largest. (Click NOAA
image for larger view of Peggy Dyson-Malson, widow of Oscar Dyson, presenting
a plaque with Oscar Dyson's picture to Cmdr. Frank Wood, NOAA Corps, who
will be the ship's first commanding officer. Click
here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit
“NOAA.”)
Oscar Dyson
is the first of four planned 208 ft. fisheries survey ships to be built
by VT Halter Marine that will either augment or replace aging ships in
the NOAA fleet. Its capabilities will far exceed those of older NOAA ships.
It has been built to meet very specific data collection requirements of
NOAA Fisheries, as well as to meet
tough standards for a low acoustic signature—an important feature
as a quiet ship won’t disturb the fish it is trying to study—set
by the International Council for Exploration of the Seas.
ICES is a
European-based organization that has developed a set of standards to optimize
the effectiveness of fisheries research and facilitate international exchange
of comparable data. Oscar Dyson and its future sister ships will also
be able to do heavy trawling while collecting environmental data, a combined
capability unavailable in the private sector.
“We’re
very pleased with the partnership between NOAA and VT Halter Marine, and
expect Oscar Dyson and its sister ships will reflect the quality that
VT Halter is known for,” said Lautenbacher. “We are looking
forward to the delivery of this new class of ship, as it will help NOAA
provide excellent data to our scientists to assess the health of fisheries
populations that sustain livelihoods. We’re also glad to be contributing
to the economic health of Mississippi through this major contract.”
(Click NOAA image for larger view of retired Navy Vice Admiral
Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and
atmosphere and NOAA administrator, the keynote speaker at the launch of
the FSV Oscar Dyson. Click
here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit
“NOAA.”)
The third
planned FSV is expected to replace Oregon II, homeported in Pascagoula,
Miss.
The NOAA fleet of research and survey ships and aircraft is operated,
managed and maintained by NOAA Marine
and Aviation Operations. NMAO includes commissioned officers of the
NOAA Corps and civilians. The NOAA
Corps is the nation’s seventh and smallest uniformed service,
and, as part of NOAA, is under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Corps
is composed of officers—all scientists or engineers—who provide
NOAA with an important blend of operational, management and technical
skills that support the agency’s environmental programs at sea,
in the air and ashore.
NOAA is dedicated
to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction
and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental
stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is
part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
VT
Halter Marine Inc., based out of Gulfport, Miss., is a leader in the
design and construction of small- to medium-sized ships in the United
States. VT Halter Marine designs, builds and repairs a wide variety of
ocean-going vessels such as patrol vessels, oil recovery vessels, oil
cargo vessels, ferries, ocean barges and research ships. It is a subsidiary
of Vision Technologies Systems Inc., a preferred provider of integrated
engineering solutions, specializing in the fields of marine, aerospace,
electronics and land systems. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., VTS is
located throughout North America. VTS offers a broad range of proven innovative
services to both the commercial and government sectors. VTS is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through
the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and
providing environmental stewardship of the nation�s coastal and marine
resources. NOAA is part of the U.S.
Department of Commerce.
Relevant
Web Sites
NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations
NOAA
Corps
Media
Contact:
Jeanne
Kouhestani, NOAA Marine and Aviation
Operations, (301) 713-3431 ext. 220
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