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Todd Pacific Wins NOAA Conversion Contract
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The following press release was issued by NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring,
MD, on August 24, 2005:
August 25, 2005... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
has awarded a contract for $13.4 million to Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation
of Seattle, Wash., to convert a former U.S. Navy surveillance vessel to a NOAA
research ship that will explore the world's oceans.
"This ship is the first in the NOAA fleet to be designated exclusively for
ocean exploration, and the scientist-explorers who sail on her will add their
observations to the world's body of knowledge about this largely unexplored
frontier," said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Ph.D.,
under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
"Once its conversion is complete, the ship will be an important link in the
Global Earth Observing System of Systems."
Following the transfer of the USNS Capable to NOAA last September, the Navy
also transferred $18 million of its appropriated operating funds in FY 2005.
The funds will be applied to the conversion contract and a separate purchase
of specialized onboard and shoreside equipment to connect expeditions at sea
in real time to teams of scientists, and to teachers and students ashore
via satellite and Internet .
Under the contract, Todd Pacific Shipyards will develop drawings and specifications
incorporating NOAA's conversion items. This process will take about six months.
Concurrently, the shipyard will overhaul all equipment on the ship that NOAA
has identified for repair or upgrade. Other equipment will be opened up and
inspected to determine if maintenance or repairs are needed. Once all conversion
item requirements and costs are determined by the shipyard, NOAA will choose
which items to authorize under the parameters of the contract.
The ship will be renamed Okeanos Explorer as a result of a nationwide NOAA
ship-naming contest. "Okeanos" is the ancient Greek term for ocean. The winning
name was submitted by a team of students from Woodstock High School in
Woodstock, Ill., and was one of nearly 400 entries received.
Following conversion, the ship will support NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration
on ocean expeditions to unknown and poorly known areas of the ocean. It will
be equipped for ocean floor mapping, deployment of remotely operated vehicles,
scientific work in onboard laboratories, and real-time transmission of images
and data collected during ocean expeditions.
The shipyard's work is expected to be completed in the spring or summer of
2007. The ship's future home port has not been determined.
Okeanos Explorer will be operated and managed by NOAA Marine and Aviation
Operations in support of NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration. NMAO includes
civilians and commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps, one of the nation's
seven uniformed services. The Corps is composed of officers--all scientists
and engineers--who provide operational, management and technical skills
supporting NOAA's environmental programs.
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