NOAA Ships and Their Missions
Geographic Distribution of Ships
Mission Descriptions
Detailed Ship Information
NOAA operates 19 ships that conduct Fisheries Research, Oceanographic and Atmospheric Research, and Charting and Hydrography. The ships are based at one of the two Marine Operations Centers in Norfolk, Virginia, and Seattle, Washington, or at one of the five port offices located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Charleston, South Carolina; Pascagoula, Mississippi; San Diego, California; and Honolulu, Hawaii.
Detailed information about each ship may be found at OMAO's Marine Operations Center Web site. Clicking the link on the ships' individual names below will also take you the the Marine Operations Center Web site.
General Shipboard Policy Information contains useful information about ship policies, procedures, drills, etc. Some individual ship's pages also have further information for visiting scientists about life aboard ship. One site supported by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center has a very useful manual for cruise volunteers and first-time sailors about life at sea.
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Geographic Distribution of Ships
East Coast: Ronald H. Brown, Henry B. Bigelow, Delaware II, Nancy Foster, Gordon Gunter, Thomas Jefferson, Okeanos Explorer, and Oregon II
Gulf Of Mexico: Nancy Foster, Gordon Gunter, and Oregon II
West Coast: Oscar Dyson, Fairweather, Miller Freeman, Hi'ialakai, David Starr Jordan, Ka'imimoana, McArthur II, Rainier, and Oscar Elton Sette
Hawaii: Hi'ialakai, Ka'imimoana and Oscar Elton Sette
Alaska: Fairweather, Miller Freeman, Oscar Dyson, and Rainier
Mission Descriptions
Fisheries research vessels perform biological and physical science studies in support of fisheries research. The individual projects are described further below. The ships are generally underway performing research on a 24-hour basis in the open ocean. The ships conducting fisheries research are Henry B. Bigelow, Delaware II, Oscar Dyson, Nancy Foster, Miller Freeman, Gordon Gunter, Hi'ialakai, David Starr Jordan, McArthur II, Oregon II, and Oscar Elton Sette.
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Oceanographic and atmospheric vessels perform physical science studies in support of physical oceanography, atmospheric studies, and bathymetric mapping. The individual projects are described further below. The ships are generally underway performing research on a 24-hour basis in the open ocean. The ships conducting oceanographic research are Ronald H. Brown, Nancy Foster, Hi'ialakai, Ka'imimoana and McArthur II.
Charting and hydrography vessels' work includes echosounding, tide gauge installation, dive operations, shoreside surveying with GPS to determine electronic positioning sites, shoreline verification and mapping, data processing, and drafting. With the addition of a shallow-water multibeam system, the ships are now able to collect survey data simultaneously with the launches, and small boats are deployed to assist with shore support operations. Small boat and survey launch work are conducted during daylight operations, whereas ship operations may occur during the day or night. Teachers can anticipate assisting with the acquisition of survey data on survey launches, scanning data to assist with the final processing of data, and riding on small support boats to help with the installation of shore positioning stations and tide gauges. The ships conducting charting and hydrographic work are Fairweather, Thomas Jefferson, and Rainier. Please note that work on the Rainier can be more physically challenging than on other ships.
Please consider the ship's activities carefully when selecting a cruise. You are likely to gain more from the experience when the research activities bear some relation to your own interests.
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Detailed Ship Information
For detailed information about the ships and the many different missions they support, please visit the OMAO Marine Operations Center Web site. Here you will find descriptions of the ships and gain access to their contact information.
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